Sip It & Zip It : Savor Each Moment

This morning’s blog idea comes out of my kitchen cupboard. . .   

I have many mugs, in fact more than I would care to count.  But I have a personal favorite that “says it all.”

It is a small white porcelain mug that is so well used that its glaze is slightly cracked on the inside, only adding to its personal value. This mug also has a little lid with a tiny honey bee on it and the lid can serve to keep the tea hot or as a coaster to put under it to protect the furniture. It fits oh so comfortably in my hands and is light weight.  The picture on the side of this little mug is of a honey jar.  Perfect.  I love that it reminds me of sweet moments.  I guess you can tell that I treasure this simple gift.

On the side, it says, “Savor each moment.“

You see . . . my littlest mug packs one big spiritual punch!  And in just one sentence.  I just have to notice it.

We can get so sucked in by life swirling around us that we begin to feel like victims of our culture caught in a vortex of thinking, doing, and measuring.  We live in an outcomes-based society. And in a hurried, worried world.

So, in honor of your time I have two things to share briefly:

1.  Savor this moment and surrender to love. 

It mysteriously changes you.

Surrender means to stop fighting. When we surrender to love we transform ourselves and soften those hard edges of life that reach out to bruise us as we bump along without looking.

“The world changes when we change. The world softens as we soften.” Marianne Williamson

2.  Sip it and Zip it –  Surrender to stillness.

It Quiets the mind.

I have a method to quiet the mind and helps me feel centered or in spiritual alignment.  I am sure you already know this, but it only works when I practice it.  Recently I have been practicing it again and rediscovering its importance. Better yet, its power to change me.

Find a time and a place when you can be alone.  I actually like dawn and dusk as they are both quiet times for Mother Earth, it seems. But when and where you find a moment or a few moments have to be right for you.

I make myself a cup of tea in my special mug that I treasure.  I call it “having tea with God.”  It helps keep it sacred for me.  Then, as I sit with lights off and computer closed I repeat to myself,  “Sip it and Zip it.”  Sometimes I remind myself to do the same during conversations with others but not as often as I should.  I need more practice.  But it helps starting the day with that mindset!

Sipping the tea reminds me to sip the stillness and tap into its peace. When I remind myself to “zip it” I keep my mouth shut, which helps quiet me.  I am more likely to listen when I don’t talk (even in prayer).

So, may I repeat myself?  Savor this moment and surrender to love. Love melts away a multitude of fears and tears, anxieties and worries.  It helps us put down our armor and embody God’s love. 

It helps. Immeasurably.

“All God needs is just one sincere surrendered moment when love matters more than anything.”  Marianne Williamson in A Return to Love