Being Present

One of the effects of modern technology is that people are no longer 'present' where they are.

Take the young person at the bus stop, earpieces in place listening to music and oblivious to what's going on around her. Or the couple out for a stroll in a beauty spot. He is on his mobile phone, talking business to an unseen person miles away, maybe even in another country, whilst his partner is forgotten and ignored, and the beauty around him neither seen nor appreciated. And what about the person having coffee in downtown Singapore, but connected up to the internet and living their life somewhere else, out there in cyberspace. His friend, ignored, reverts to texting to pass the time.

We are in danger of losing one of the great attributes of the spiritual life - the ability to be present to the people, place and circumstances where we are at any one moment, giving them our full attention, and receiving theirs in return. It is the basis of communication, and communion, between people and with God. The sacrament of the present moment. Wherever you are, may you be truly present to those around you.