There is an old plastic chair in my back yard. Sometimes the dog or the wind turns it over, and many times the old chair is neglected and stays turned over for a while. But the chair is there for a purpose. It’s hard for me to describe how or why it works the way it does, but it is meaningful enough in my life that I wanted to share it with you.
On occasion ( not regularly enough, probably ) I walk out to that chair and just sit there. Please understand that I am not there to talk or to pray, and I am not there to think about things. I am only there to listen. Sometimes it takes a while to clear the thoughts from my mind. When I find myself focusing on a particular problem or subject, I have to try to get beyond that, so that there is no concern for the past or the future, but only an awareness of the present moment and my present surroundings.
Then I begin to notice the brightness of the day, or the darkness of the night, the sound of a lone cricket, or the song of a bird. I become conscious of my breathing, and I feel the slightest gentle breeze upon my face. When that happens, I try to continue that way for as many minutes as I can. Sometimes it is for five minutes, and sometimes it is thirty minutes or more.
I don’t know why it is, but after these times things seem to come together better in my life. As far as I know it doesn’t make me any smarter or wiser, and sometimes I feel that it has been a total waste of time. Sometimes I feel like I have been sitting at a blank wall of nothingness. But for some reason, life seems better after an episode in the chair. I am more grateful for what I have. Problems don’t upset me as much. I begin to see myself as a small part of something big instead of a big part of something small. The big shadow of gloom that haunts so many of us seems to disappear.
In the most humble way that I can, I want to recommend that you try it. It has been difficult for me to enter into this, because I am the kind of person who wants to understand what is going on. I have a “need” to have things figured out. To be honest, I am a reformed and repentant “control freak” from way back! But sitting in that chair, I must relinquish my illusions of control and give up my demands for all the answers on a rational level. Sitting in that chair, something else seems to let me know that everything is okay and in good hands.
Without a doubt, the One who made the sun and the stars and the earth, and all of us who live here , is so much bigger than my understanding of theology or religion. Could it be possible that He is closer than I think? Could it be that His voice can be heard in the sound of a little cricket? Perhaps could His presence be felt even in a slight gentle breeze?
If you want to find out, here is some good news for you: any old chair will do!