Last week whilst preaching I made a very bold assertion -- that what separates humans from all the rest of creation is that we can forgive.  Forgive and not just forget.

This week I think that’s probably a gross exaggeration.  There are many things that separate us from all the rest of creation.  We make tools, we have language, we have a sense of history.  We also have culture/civilization. We grow and harvest food and then we cook that food.  No other part of creation does this.

Winston Churchill said, “We shape our buildings, and afterwards our buildings shape us.”  We have been shaped by many things – I am pondering now how we are shaping our buildings and then how those buildings are shaping us.  The movement to have or buildings become more “plain” shaped the Protestant reformation.  Our movement away from special use sacred spaces to general use areas in church – how is this shaping us?  Is it just a sign of our lack of place within our souls for a devotional space? In our busy society, are we taking the space and time to be intentional in our relationship with God (much less with our relationships with others?)

There is a movement called “mindful eating.” There is much in our lives that has become mindless.  We need more mindfulness in all that we do; more intentionality.  We have a choice to be proactive rather than reactive (another thing that separates us from the rest of creation.)  How might I be more proactive today?  What may I be more mindful of?