Can buying potatoes be a Holy Moment?

The other day, it was my morning off work, and I just wanted to stay home and be more contemplative–slow down, and have time to mediate in a more leisurely way. But that didn’t happen. When I took my husband to the bus stop, there was no bus in sight, so I agreed to drive him up to the next stop. But we could soon see that there was trouble on the line, since every stop was full of people waiting, and no buses in sight. I ended up driving him most of the way to work, and since I was near the grocery store I decided to make a stop since we needed some things.

As I was selecting and putting some yukon gold potatoes into a paper bag, I thought to myself: how is this moment actually contemplation in action?

We hear about finding God in all things, and living the contemplative life, but what does that really mean to most of us whose daily lives are filled with errands, work commitments, attending to others and being responsive to our families?

Was there an insight available to me in this moment of selecting potatoes? As I reached into the pile, my first thought was how grateful I was for the gift of this food. I allowed that thought to deepen and penetrate the moment. Then I decided to stay more consciously connected to myself and to God as I reached out my hand to select the potatoes. I encouraged myself to see this moment as a Holy moment. Instead of resisting the moment, and filling myself with such thoughts as, “I just want to be home and meditating.”

So my recipe was: gratitude; consciously staying connected to myself and to God; and seeing the moment as a Holy moment. Wow! all this was available to me in the simple act of buying potatoes.

Gratitude and staying connected (to myself, the Divine, and the great spirit of life) ground me in this moment of buying potatoes and seeing this moment as Holy. It’s lovely and amazing how the simplest act can yield such wonderful gifts if we are open.

Today’s practice: Find a Holy Moment in your day today.