This morning after breakfast, my brother hitched up his camper, fastened his dog in his truck, and left for the winter. He is heading to Arizona but will stop at beautiful sites on his way. After he left, I cleaned up the cabin a bit and enjoyed the fresh mountain air and scenery before I packed up. I was happy that it was just the right timing for me to attend Mass in the little mountain town not too far away. The priest there is so friendly, relevant, and down to earth. He talked about being able to recognize miracles. I agreed when he said that we are so busy going from this event to that commitment, that we aren’t even paying attention to what is going on around us. He suggested we slow down to the “speed of God”. Evidently, he introduced the concept last week as the regular congregants were able to finish the sentence. He explained that when we live our lives at the speed of God, we become more aware of everything that is happening. We notice nature, the flowers, birds, weather, as well as other people. We can have compassion, see their needs and perhaps act on it. At the same time, we will recognize God’s movements in our own lives and in the lives of others. Answered prayers, healings, safety, relationships, care when we needed it. This requires us to slow down and pay attention. He also said it took him a very long time to drive to the church this morning as he was amongst the traffic of people going up to the mountains to see the changing aspen leaves. He said they were all moving at the “speed of aspen”. I enjoyed his remarks and remembered them as I drove home in the line of leaf-peepers. It did take quite a long time, but I didn’t mind as it gave more opportunity to view the beauty of the season.

I Found God today in the idea of slowing down to the speed of God.