When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars that you have established;
what are human beings that you are mindful of them,
mortals that you care for them? Psalm 8:3-4
In the book Sacred Time we have considered time as it pertains to our breath, our hours, our days and weeks and now eternity. “We are part of a long, elegant, and cosmic breath,” says Christine Valters Paintner, “one that mirrors the rising and setting of the sun each day, the waxing and waning of the moon, the turning of the earth and her seasons, and the movement of our lives.”
We whose lives are focused primarily on our own little patch of earth and sky are a part of the whole universe. An important part, we are told by scholars and mystics and angels and scripture. We only see that when we take a step back and widen our perspective. From the wider view we understand that endings make way for beginnings. Just as winter always gives way to spring, “being in a time of endings also means moving toward new beginnings,” says Paintner.
In chapter 6 we learned that our lives have their own seasons – times of acceptance, and times when certain things need to be released. We learned to ask, “What is it the season for?” We don’t try to outrun the present moment, but instead situate ourselves in it and seek to determine what our lives are asking of us in this moment. What new thing is wanting to present itself ? What old thing must be eliminated to make room for the new?
“Perhaps,” says Paintner, “the more we live into the cyclical rhythms of breath, day, moon, and seasons, the more we might trust that a new story is coming.”
In his reflection, John Valters Paintner says that even when he is not feeling particularly spiritual, he realizes there is something within each of us that connects us to something greater than ourselves. We are of the Divine and are connected to the rest of creation. We are all part of the sacred flow of time, all part of the cosmos.
Questions for reflection.
When you think of your small self as part of the huge universe, what image comes to mind?
On p. 118 Paintner again describes the difference between linear time and organic time (which is cyclical). Has this understanding changed your experience of time in your own life? If so, how?
What is your reaction to Paintner’s description of cosmic time as a “giant cosmic breath of expansion and contraction?” (p. 119)
We are all familiar with the creation story in Genesis. What insight did you receive from John’s reflection on this passage?
How do you find connection with the rest of humanity, creation, and the cosmos?
How does focusing on the cosmos help you in your day-to-day life?
The Wisdom Years 