“Seeing what is Sacred. Becoming more spiritually sensitive to the everyday moments of life” By Ken Gire 
This is not a new book; it came out in 2006 and was left in my office by my predecessor (part of a small group of books he seems to have thought would be helpful to me). I picked up because I was feeling a bit weary and a bit overwhelmed as I looked at my schedule for the month and pondered how I would get it all done. Staring at a long list of projects and meetings, extra evening and Saturday engagements I thought Whoah boy, you better take it slow, take it careful, pace yourself, and then good thing not every month looks like this.
So I needed to slow down a bit, or at least check my speed to make sure things didn’t get all out of balance I approached the month. Partly this involved delegating away what I could, delaying that which could be delayed, but let’s face it, some of this stuff just has to get done and done by me. So I needed to remind myself a bit about the sacred nature of what I do, the sacred nature of time spent with family, friends, maintaining my body, and my relationship to Jesus Christ.
Ken Gire’s book was exactly what I needed and that is why I am sharing in this space, I know many people are harried, are anxious, are too-busy, and could use something calm, peaceful, something that demands attention and patience. Seeing what is sacred is the sort of books where each word matters. For example here is a little haiku thrown into an essay
Something sacred.
At Stake.
In every event.
Calm, slow, deliberate writing like that is helpful when our minds are moving too fast.
It’s also a book I found a soul like mine in. Gire describes a time he almost missed a crucial moment with his daughter because his life involves so much distraction. He reflects his gratefulness to God for inspiring him not to miss the moment and says something that was so much like my thinking “I came so close to missing that time with her, missing making a memory that my daughter would treasure the rest of her life. And I realized how many time like that I had missed over the years. Not just with her but with the other kids, with my wife, my friends, other members of my family. And the loss of those times, the loss of those moments in the lives of the people I loved ands in my own life, made me sad” (emphasis in original). The unintentional, unexamined life leads to more missed moments. Call me sappy but that sort of sadness is one I understand all too well.
This is a short and worthwhile read. Take it slow. Let it sink in.
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