Buried Beneath Your Feet

I don’t know about you, but I often find myself preoccupied with the future. It’s part nature, part nurture. While there is nothing wrong with being mindful about the future and seeking to be responsible with resources, the voice of peace calls us to tend to the present.  True life is found right here and right now.

In his book Feed the Wolf: Befriending Our Fears in the Way of Saint Francis Jon Sweeney tells a parable to express this very point:

There was a man who dreamed of being rich. He heard treasure was to be discovered in a very special place, just waiting for the right person who is properly committed and prepared to go find it. He travels a long distance and reads the instructions that he finds there only to see that the instructions say, “Look under your own floor at home.” There, it turns out, the treasure was all the time.

I talk and write a lot about spiritual formation and contemplative Christianity. The truth is, I’m not interested in these things because I am naturally good at them. I am interested in pursuing them because I need them for my own spiritual, emotional, mental, and relational vitality. In learning how to slow down and listen to the movement of God here and now I become more alive, more at peace, more connected, and more settled in my true self.

Friends, hear the good news! You are an image bearer of the living God. You are called beloved. You were wonderfully made. All that you need is right here in front of you. You needn’t go searching all over the world for this treasure. It is buried beneath your feet.