God Is Awake

This one of my favorite quotes. Victor Hugo lived in France in the 1800’s and is the author of Les Miserables and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. We should all post this quote on our wall as a reminder to ourselves that no matter what we may have to deal with during the daytime, God is always awake, and we should allow ourselves to go to sleep each night in peace. We all will have great sorrows in our lives sooner or later and it will be a rare day that does not require some level of patience. Many of us fret and obsess and work ourselves into a frenzy worrying about our problems. In my experience life takes care of itself and it generally unfolds as it should. It is not a bad thing to live your life as though everything you need is dependent on your personal efforts to meet those needs. I believe such effort is rewarded. At the same time it has also been my experience that everything I need seems to come my way eventually. Some people do not think this is true because they confuse their needs with their wants. I have a little Zen garden on my desk. Two small Buddha’s sit in the garden with a small sign that reads “What, at this moment, is lacking”? A former teacher and friend of mine, who was here a few weeks ago for the Dalai Lama’s appearance in Louisville, once said, “The moment is as perfect as it can be”. If we live in the moment and appreciate its fullness, we will often realize that nothing is lacking and the moment is as perfect as it can be. As I write these thoughts I am sitting at my desk. Outside the temperature is approaching a heat index of 100 degrees. I am sitting here in air conditioning listening to Miles Davis. I could be outside tarring a roof or doing hard manual labor that would be very difficult for an old guy like me. This moment seems very good to me. Admittedly, sometimes at night when God is awake, he gets lonely and wakes me up to talk. I’m not always in the mood but I am grateful for all the nights I sleep deeply and God watches over me.