What lingers?
If you’re like me, rushed and intent to skim through articles and life to get to the next obligation, the next sentence might irk you.
Sit with the question before reading any further, and create enough space for your self to surface: What Lingers?
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When I first heard this question in my 20s, it created more questions than answers. As I age, I live the questions more than ask them. I also carry the aches and pains of experience which only further humble me in the pursuit to be present to the inner life which whispers, speaks, and shouts.
What lingers is a question we must stay close to throughout our day. It is not a one time journal exercise. It is a call to examine our heart and pay close attention to what we find. It is the opportunity to bring our heart along into each moment. To bypass or dismiss the question only leaves our heart behind as we rush through breakfast, get the kids off to school, attend meetings, and enjoy a beer with a friend to close out our day.
As we learn to pay attention to our heart, we grow aware of the stories and feelings from which we run, hide, or fight. The past lingers with us. It begs us to give it voice, because if we do not, it can only keep on begging and tugging until we listen.
My friend Dane begins his spiritual direction with people by asking, “What comes with you today?”
It is yet another way of asking: What lingers?
