Moments in Between. David Kundtz

they arrive at the top, it hits them. For example, “Oops! I am a top executive, but what I really wanted was to be a writer.” Looking back, they can recognize what they had hurried past: the high school teacher who encouraged them to write, the college prize won for essay writing, the longing to create a novel—all missed, hurried past.

      Noticing and recognizing pleasures is what we gain from our moments of doing nothing, of reverie, of awakening to our true desires and passions.

      It is never too late to find a new wall or climb a different ladder.

       Most men pursue pleasure with such breathless haste they hurry past it.

      —Sören Kierkegaard

      Do you have an “Oops” to say about what you've hurried past?

      Thoughts Unsought

      Where do they come from, these unsought thoughts? Pope John XXIII tells the way he first thought about convening the Second Vatican Council, which has been called the most significant religious event of the century and will influence the world for centuries to come.

      He said, although not with Locke's words, that the idea for the Council just dropped into his mind. It did not come as a logical answer to a particular problem. It just dropped in, so to speak. Lawrence Elliott, in his biography of the popular pope, quotes him: “Suddenly an inspiration sprang up within us as a flower that blooms in an unexpected springtime…a council!”

      I won't attempt to answer the question about where these ideas come from. But let me say something about not missing them when they do come. And not just to popes.

      We won't miss these gems only if we have prepared ourselves in advance of their visit by creating a place of welcome, if we have a sign on our souls saying: Valuable Unsought Thoughts—Enter Here.

      The construction of the sign includes the wood of silence, the metal of serenity, and the nails of quiet recollection.

      Pope John is a fine example of such a soul. His autobiography reveals a lifelong desire and effort to “know and do God's will.”When the thought of the Council dropped in, his place of welcome was ready, having been prepared by prayer, service, humility, and many hours and days of contemplation.

       The thoughts that often come unsought, and, as it were, drop into the most valuable of any we have.

      —John Locke

      See your quiet moments today as preparation of a welcoming place for valuable thoughts that will just drop in.

      three

      Remembering to Take the Time

      A Lesson from Sister

      I can still hear my seventh grade teacher's voice: “David, go to your place! Be still and pay attention!” She didn't say “Be quiet!” but always “Be still!”, which implies not only a lack of noise but a lack of movement as well, a quietude of the whole person.

      You have long since left the realm of schoolchildren, but these words are just as important—no, more important—because now you can know their real power: Practicing stillness and attention can change your life, especially as your practice gains power and effectiveness.

      Here are a few questions to consider:

      What is your way of being still? In which place are you likely to be when you are still—inside, outside, in a particular room or space? In what posture would you tend to be—sitting, standing, lying down?

      Are you someone for whom being still is particularly difficult or challenging? Could you practice being still while walking?

      When you are indeed still, to what is your attention drawn? How do you think about paying attention? That is, what does it mean to you?

      Armed with this description of what paying attention looks like for you, you won't miss the opportunities to practice it. You will be ready when the moments for stillness come.

       Sit down, be still, and pay attention!

      —Sister Mary Odilo

      Today pick a few moments to sit down, be still, and pay attention.

      Telephones, Beepers, and Clocks

      The most frequent challenge I hear from busy people who want to find peace in their daily lives is that they have goodwill, but they just plain forget to take a few moments for a Stillpoint. At the end of the day they realize they only did one or two, or even none.

      What helps me, and many of the people I speak with, is finding triggers. Look for the triggers in your day—moments, people, situations, times, places, events, goings, comings—that have these traits in common: (i) They are frequent. (2) They are automatic. (3) They are consistent.

      Here is an example: telephones, beepers, and clocks, or—putting a spin on John Donne's words—bells that sound in your environment. When you hear them, you can Stop, take a breath, and remember who you are—every time you hear the phone, the clock, the doorbell, or a beeper.

      Here's one I do. Every time I hear the microwave beeper—a sound I find annoying—I call myself to a momentary breath of relaxation and a recollection of how I'll enjoy whatever is being warmed.

      Here are a few helps to establish an event or a sound as a trigger. Place sticky notes or other signs on things; put things “out of place” to remind you; take a few moments at the beginning of the day and put your Stillpoints in your imagination: When I take a bathroom break, I will stay there for one minute longer, dose my eyes and notice what I am feeling physically in my body or emotionally.