The Gift of Moments

Be in the moment! Ah, if only I could… but the moment doesn’t wait for me to get there, already it’s gone to the next: a new moment and here I am late arriving again. Life is a succession of moments and I am called/invited to pay attention, but the hope of doing so by closing my eyes and focusing within seems a contradiction, an escape from the outward and onward passing moments that keep flowing by. Yet it isn’t either/or. When I am silent within and waiting I am still moving from moment to moment. Life/time unfolds and the invitation to be present is real. This is both gift and paradox.

On June 25 John Holliger brought us a selection of his exquisite photographs to share unique and meaningful moments of his life journey and reflection; inviting us to make them stepping stones into our own. In the power point presentation entitled “The Potter as Spiritual Guide”, John invited us to be attentive to the leading of the clay by the potter; the powerlessness once all the pottery is in the wood fired kiln for 3 days, not knowing how they will look once transformed from clay to stone in the kiln. He quoted Svend Bayer: “When a potter not only knows his job but delights in it, when technique and inspiration become identified, the glow of life will begin to appear in his pots. Nobody can say in rational terms exactly what this glowing consists of, or how the inanimate can be capable of transmitting life from the maker to the user, but it is a fact of common experience.”

My personal insight which came the next day is that the relationship between potter and clay isn’t as static as described by Isaiah and Paul. Rather the potter holding the clay on the turning wheel listens attentively through her fingers to the essence of the clay. The process is one of reciprocity, as is the relationship between creature and Creator. God is sensitive to the becoming me (the clay), moment by moment. My call is to be responsive to the ever-creating God (the Potter).

Those of us who were blessed to share “The Adventure of the Spirituality of Imperfection” had the experience of watching John’s own story continue and unfold as we brought our adventures and experiences into the inner dialogue. It was a day of amazing moments. I could stand before each captured moment (photograph) and get lost in the singular creation of God captured by this attentive and loving artist and held still for my own contemplative growth. I so wanted to share it with you!

As a parting grace, John agreed to leave several of his photographs to bless our space for the next week. If you are able to stop by and share this gift of moments, please do come!