(photo by Yulia Khlebnikova on Unsplash)
One Blueberry
“Practice Single Tasking.” That is the second item listed by the Barefoot Minimalists in their post, “Twelve Ways to be More Present in 2023.” So, this morning I changed things up. Usually, I read the news while I eat breakfast. Not today. Today, I savored the blueberries mixed in my oatmeal. More present to my meal and God, I gave thanks for the last blueberry in my bowl. I wondered. What else have I missed because I’m multi-tasking?
Simplifying my life has helped me slow down, pay attention, and savor each moment. I pay more attention to God and others when I am not distracted by physical and mental stuff. Facebook was a mental, emotional, and time drain in my life, so I gave it up. Clutter took too much time to sort through in order to find what I was looking for, so I got rid of it. I learned boundaries to create more space for life-giving people and experiences.
Living simply is an opportunity to remove what drains life so that I can make more room for that which brings life.
There are many writers and blogs encouraging decluttering and a simple lifestyle. Joshua Becker is one of the best, and a guru of sorts on minimalism. So why am I writing about it here?
I’m writing on this topic because directees ask me how they can hear God, or sense more of God’s presence in their life. I’ve discovered that one cannot be present to God if one is not present to themselves.
Remove clutter, noise, busyness, and that which drains life, and you will be more present to God who brings life.
For more on this topic, see:
“Twelve Ways to be More Present in 2023.”
A Word from C.L. Burger 
3 responses to “One Blueberry: Practicing Presence”
That makes sense that in order to hear God we need to cut down on the noise in our heads and environment. Like the saying of needing space to think, we also need space to hear God.
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Absolutely! And you hear so well, especially when you are out taking photos! God speaks through your photography!
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Much truth here! This sums it up perfectly – this is the ‘why’ behind all my efforts over recent years. It does take work, and is both a process and a lifestyle.
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