The Sacrament of the Present Moment

Flannery O’Connor writes, “somewhere is better than anywhere.” And maybe she’s inviting us to remain faithful to the sacrament of the present moment. Somewhere is anywhere in the present.

Somewhere is the Coconino National Forest on the outskirts of Flagstaff where my wife is asleep in a hammock and my dog roams through the wildflowers, snapping bits of grass as she goes. Somewhere is the place my feet touch the ground, not the place they might touch the ground in the future. Somewhere is this present moment, a sacrament where the wind rustles the aspen leaves as if they are waving frantically. While treetops sway I hope they say, “somewhere is better than anywhere.”

Let’s not let the future deceive us. It might not be a better packaged perception of the present. We can be here, now. Perhaps we should strive to know these somewhere moments more intimately. How else can we steward them, care for them, and live in them?

Wendall Berry makes note that “the quality of attention decreases as the acreage increases.” The more we fall for the lie of later, the more “acreage” increases between us and this present moment. And we find ourselves lost, too far gone to pay attention to where we are. 

Somewhere. That’s where. 

And still, if we are truly here, let us be protected from the trap of productivity. We do not need to make somewhere into something because it is gift enough to be here. We cannot wrap this moment in foil and serve it up better in the future. There is no such thing as leftovers from the sacrament of the present moment. We need help so we do not over-produce the present. 

You see, we are here - feet on the fire ring, paws in the dirt, suspended between the trees… only for a moment, but present just the same.