Just living

“Just living is not enough”, said the butterfly. “One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.”
Hans Christian Anderson

Just living. Just existing. Just getting by. That word “just” can be substituted with merely, not enough, barely. It seems to imply a “lack of”, a raw existence.

On Sunday I took a drive up the coast, this majestic and glorious coast I live on! Deep breathing. Breathing in the fresh air, feeling the sunshine on my skin, basking in the tranquility of the various little beaches I stopped at and walked along. Inhaling the aroma of fresh bread and then enjoying the taste of it while I sat at a little bistro table in the hamlet of Halfmoon Bay. Nothing lacking here – but rather the full robust aromatic abundance that puts the rhythm of God back into the day where the senses are alive to nature, to God, to people, to LIFE.

Didn’t Jesus say that it isn’t just life but ABUNDANT LIFE that is given to us? “real life, eternal life, more life, a better life than they ever dreamed of” (The Message). Why is it so hard to grab hold of that, live it, breath it, believe it, exude it?

Idelette has talked about a scarcity mode of thinking. This scarcity or abundance living that I am thinking of is not material. This is scarcity or abundant soul living, scarcity or abundant relationship living. My head knows that life is to be rich and full but my heart doesn’t always believe it. These two parts, within the one framework of flesh and bones don’t always have a good connection. I don’t need a freeway between my head and heart for fast direct connection although a direct dial line would be less stressful. A country back road, a pathway where all my senses are alive in the process sounds like an optimum connection. Where the pathway between the head and the heart allow the “real life, eternal life, more life, better life” to seep into every nerve ending, every oxygen carrying red blood cell, every thought process, every joint and muscle connection. Where I inhale and exhale that breath of life, my heart and my feet feel the rhythm, and even my diet reflects living food.

It isn’t about me living though is it. It is about joining LIFE and being lived in. This is how I see it from where I sit this morning watching this new day be born, watching this day come to life and getting ready to step in and join it.