Against waiting

Steve Johnson. Oil on Canvas.

"Against waiting" is the exact English translation of the German word "Gegenwart" which means in English "present" or "presence" or "the now". So "present" is being "against waiting".

I was traveling recently thousands of miles and this was a great opportunity to stay and be completely in the now. No stress, no pressure, no worry --- in the now all the presence of God is here, a bulwark against waiting, against the emptiness of nothing moving forward or thought anxiously waiting for something to happen.

There is a story by the Roman author Cicero entitled "The Nature of the Gods", in which he relates the story of wise man Simonides who is asked by the tyrant Hiero what or who God was. Simonides asks for a day to ponder. On the next day he asks for an extension of the time. He continues to double the time in which to think it over. Finally he gave this reply: "The longer I consider this, the more obscure it seems to me." Yes, the longer you let time pass on this important subject, you just wait, you have left the glory of the present moment untapped. And you never feel the practical effect of God. That is Cicero's message in his book.

There were several special moments when this became beautifully evident on our trip. All the way through on our way from Los Angeles to Berlin my son and I were aware of good present - or as Vincent put it: The Christ traveling with us. There is only one real consciousness, and this consciousness is God - without time, without limits, without divisions, without viewpoints, without smallness. The most majestic now - the real life not tomorrow, not the other day, but... now.

It was no coincidence that upon our arrival late at night my suitcase came out first so that we could catch one of the last trains home from the airport. Effortless precision within the "Against waiting" of the one divine Mind. It is this special attention to what Spirit is telling us every moment, which the Bible calls "wait upon God". In Psalms we read: "My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him." (Psalm 62:5). This listening to God is the exact demonstration of "against waiting", against awaiting the arrival of something, who knows what, and us being under constant pressure to respond. Humanity can fill whole lives with this postponing of good to express itself indefinitely. No, the joy of life is the presence of good, with us, every day. This is Gegenwart - against waiting. We are safe and sound now.

There is a presence walks with us 
On every pathless way, 
A light outshining midday sun 
However dark the day. 

We reach our hand—and feel God near; 
We cry—and She replies. 
We open eyes that sense had dimmed; 
We stretch our wings and rise 

Above the mist, above the dark, 
Above the threats of fear, 
Upheld by Love that never fails 
And is forever near. 

We cannot stray beyond Love's care, 
For Love does fill all space; 
And where we go the path is marked 
By angels of Love's grace.

(Hymn #587)