![\"Rev.](\"https:\/\/myswan.info\/mz\/wp-content\/uploads\/bb-plugin\/cache\/jim_francek-circle.png\" "\\"Rev.")
\n\t\tRev. Jim Francek, Community Minister for Pastoral Care<\/p>\t\t\t\n\t
We are in the cycle of the year\u2026 when darkness is upon us and taking us into a time of waiting.<\/p>\n
As we move through this season both metaphorically and psychologically, there are many things about our current life that could depress us or leave us without direction. It is critical to stay focused on what gives us life and hope. WHAT WE FOCUS ON EXPANDS!<\/strong><\/p>\n In darkness\u2026 uncertainty and imbalance are regular visitors. In some ways, we are drawn into a period of waiting. Eckhart Tolle, the author of The Power of Now, reminds us what waiting could become.<\/p>\n \u201cWaiting is a state of mind. Basically, it means that you want the future; you don\u2019t want the present. You don\u2019t want what you\u2019ve got, and you want what you haven\u2019t got. With every kind of waiting, you unconsciously create inner conflict between your here and now, where you don\u2019t want to be, and the projected future, where you want to be. This greatly reduces the quality of your life by making you lose the present.\u201d*<\/p>\n From my experience, a period of darkness and waiting can be a time when light and hope can be reborn. Twenty-five years ago, my consultation business went through a prolonged period of no contracts\u2026 no work. Living in Westport at the time, a sizable mortgage was the soil for growing fear. I picked up a native drum that sparked me to journal. A jumble of interacting thoughts and ragged feelings tumbled out in the form of poetry. I was touching my present state\u2026 focus and direction came from this process. It also introduced me to a poet I had not met before.<\/p>\n If you could benefit by engaging your present moment, please do consider dropping in on our The Power of Now ongoing workshop on Wednesday evenings at 7: 00 PM in our Meeting House. It can be very helpful support, perhaps particularly during this winter cycle.<\/p>\n Rev. Jim<\/p>\n *Tolle, Eckhart The Power of Now p. 86<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"