Be Still

Psalm 46:10, "Be still and know that I am God!"

Could this verse come any closer to the poetry that we have been reading in class? Throughout these past two classes, I have learned a lot about taking the time to notice the subtle things, like a single flower fallen from the bush that it grew from, or difference in the the trees as their leaves radiate this fluorescent lime green color. I feel that we cannot truly know God unless we sit solely in His presence, so that we are able to take note of the creation that He orchestrated.

In Mary Oliver's poem, Messenger, I absolutely fell in love with her first line, "My work is loving the world." How wonderful would life truly be if the mass majority found fulfillment by simply just loving the world. She goes on to describe that she needs to keep her mind on what matters which pertains to her work, "which is mostly standing still and learning to be astonished." I really do not think I could have said it any better myself. The way Mary Oliver talks about the world is so intriguing, it makes me want to see from her perspective, from her mind, but then it hit me, I have the power to see the world as she does, if I would only BE STILL! God knows it, Mary Oliver knows it, so why do I not know it. If so much joy comes out of taking heart with the small, subtle things of life, why are not more people catching on? Why are people always dragging themselves into the same old prison cell, locking themselves from joy, peace, and tranquility and in-caving themselves to bitterness, distraught, and despair?

I know why, because we run eight hour days, if not more working and hurrying, working, and thinking, working, working and working until we are rundown, out of breathe and ready to pass out. We do not think on things that brings us peace, but rather things that we have to do for tomorrow, the next day, the next week, the next month, and the next year. Were freaking out about our future, when we have not even had a chance to think about our present. Whenever I start getting too overwhelmed, I always think about that line in Kung Fu Panda, when one of the characters says, "Life is a gift, that is why they call it the present." Even though the line comes from a cartoon movie, it has so much meaning behind the words and fits exceedingly well with Mary Oliver's poems as well as the Bible.

If we could just tap into that moment of being completely one with nature, isolated from worldly anxieties and just sit, lie back in the grass and allow ourselves to enter into that "place of not thinking, not remembering, [and] not wanting," I believe that we would be a delight in the heart of Christ. One thing that I have learned from all of these poems is that God did not create life so that we could hate every waking moment of it, no, He created life so that we might enjoy it, appreciate it, and live it to our fullest potential.