Sage-ing is a quarterly publication of The Okanagan Institute. I know about it because of my friend / colleague Katharine Weinmann. I love the focus of offering and witnessing grace, spirit, and gratitude.
I had a piece published in the Spring Issue. The theme was “No Time Like the Future.” I offered a piece on “No Time Like the Now.” Excerpts are below. Enjoy reading the full piece, and the other offerings of authors / artists.
And here we are, living in the potency of contemporary life, so plugged in and so 24/7 volumed. I know of palpable cumulative fatigue that tags along with such life. And I know of polarized vigilance for this and that in people taking stands for varied causes. And I know some of the broadly marketed distortions and distractions. And threats of new war. And the day to day of injustice, often mainstreamed to background din. And grief unarticulated. And, and, and…
As I age, doing my best to contribute to eldering and not just oldering, I’ve noticed inner clarity in a way that wasn’t possible in younger versions of myself. One of those clarities, in my heart as much as in my brain, is to pay exquisite attention to now. To this moment. To its ‘unfetteredness’ and ‘unaccumulatedness,’ with past and future momentarily suspended, with the incessant measuring of time taking a stretch of break.
And this poem, An Undisturbed Now.
An Undisturbed Now
In younger days,
I was excited
for multiple forms of modern connection.
A computer.
A smart phone. Texting.
I loved then and now the fluidity. and freedom.
Now, I don’t consider myself in older days, yet my excitement
is for singularity of moment.
A breath that has no to do.
A stillness without multiple prompts. A quiet freed of notifications.
I love the poignancy
of an undisturbed now.
