I remember being a little boy and being told to “Pay Attention!”. This command was always given by a teacher, a parent, or some older person who thought that I should be listening to what they had to say. I occasionally drifted off, like most children, to someplace that was not so mundane or boring. They sometimes called it daydreaming. The truth is that kids don’t find everything that adults offer up as vitally interesting. There are more important things like a bug crawling toward Sally’s elbow, butterflies dancing in the window, fish and frogs that are waiting at the pond for me, forts in the woods, a pie cooling on Mom’s windowsill. Now those things command attention! Like most people, though, I grew up and away from the daydreams, the fantasy and the anticipation. My focus became the work at hand, problems to solve and tasks to complete. And the world slips by in the process. I don’t even see bugs very often except the kinds that I should spray. Butterflies get smashed on my windshield on the way to work. Ponds are stagnant and need to be cleaned. The woods are in my back yard yet rarely even get visited. Mom has been gone for a long time…there are no more pies on the windowsill.
It is important to take some time during this season of renewal prior to Easter. I was reminded by a patient of mine that “I’ve never seen a U-Haul behind a hearse”. There are so many interesting details buzzing around us every single minute of every single day. It does not take much discipline, but does require a desire, to take an opportunity to notice what is REALLY going on. Forget about the war, politics, the market, work, duties and responsibilities for just a while today. Walk outside and look around, take a deep breath, sit in the grass, and celebrate God’s gift that is before you. It’s free! Then take it with you and then daydream about it here and there. Someone might say “Pay Attention!”…you can respond “Oh, I Am!”.
