Ken’s e-Pistle

February 22, 2023

Jedediah Jenkins, in his book, “To Shake the Sleeping Self,” (Convergent Books, 2018) tells the epic tale of his trip from Oregon to Patagonia.  The goal of his journey is self-awareness and a healthy dose of self-compassion.  A worthy goal for most of us as we begin the Lenten enterprise.

He writes of a need to awaken his senses and slow down time.  In other words, to live fully in the moment and recognize it as the gift it is. Kind of a Zen approach to life.

I am convinced that Jesus approves of this.  In His wilderness wanderings He doubtless spent a lot of time thinking about the nature of time and how to fill it with God’s Presence.  The Temptations reflect the eternal conflicts which arise when we try to be the  masters of our time rather than worship the Master of  Time. You know them; the need to solve all the  problems, attend to our needs for self-gratification and the struggle against mis-placed priorities.

Sometimes we make an idol of time, mortgaging the future with worry and damning the past with regrets.  All of that mis-spent energy keeps us from living in the present moment.

The first prize on which we must keep our eyes during Lent is considering afresh the gift of time with which our God graces us.  The present moment is as full of potential as the future is of worry and the past is of regret.

I bid you peace!