Most of us have fond memories of gathering with our family around the Christmas tree and gathering with friends to celebrate a birthday. Those times are wonderful because they involve long-anticipated presence.
When I think of presence, I am reminded of a story I once heard, which I like to alter just a bit. In my version of the story, a young boy becomes friends with a wise old man, who observes that the boy is joyfully engaged in life, even finding delight in mundane things like cutting grass.
The wise old man tells the boy about something called the “precious presence.” He says to the boy, “The precious presence will be the most valuable gift ever given.” “It is so wonderful,” the man said, “it will make him happier and more successful than anything else he could ever receive.”
The boy is fascinated with the idea of presence, so he asks how he could get it. The old man tells him he already knows the answer and he points out how happy the boy already was, even just cutting the grass. The boy doesn’t understand, so the old man explains that the presence is a gift we must give to ourselves.
Time passes and the boy grows into his teens. In the back of his mind, he is always wondering about the presence and how and where he can find it. One day, the boy's curiosity became overwhelming, so he visited the old man to learn more. Thinking he might have be on the right track, he asked, "Is it a spaceship, one that I may board and travel anywhere I like?"
"No", the old man again replied, "for when you have presence you will be content to be wherever you are".
The teenaged boy left.
Time passed.
Now a young man, he felt a bit embarrassed going to the old man with his quest for the presence. But again, he did.
"Is it a pirate's treasure chest filled with diamonds, rubies, silver and gold buried on a deserted island?"
"No", the old man quietly replied, the wealth of the presence comes only from the presence itself."
Again, the young man departed, puzzled and frustrated.
Time passes and the young man decides to search for the presence himself. He searched every corner of the earth, climbed every mountain, explored every cave, sailed every ocean and probed the minds of every person he met. He spent many, many years of his life searching to no avail.
As the young man matures into adulthood, he abandons the search for the precious presence. He becomes focused on his work and being successful and it seems to be fruitful, at first. He finds a loving wife, he builds a beautiful home, he begins to rear his children, making sure they have the best money can buy. But then, the normal problems of life start to pile up and he begins running into problems at work and in his personal life. He loses his job and his marriage is on the rocks. He doesn’t understand how life can be so unkind when he has worked so hard. He is bitter and angry, but he uses his fury to drive him on, to work harder, to make it through.
Years later, a tired, weary, and often physically ill man, returned to the wise older man. He told him of his fruitless travels searching for the presence, his life of material success and failure, his fatigue, and his ultimate unhappiness with it all.
Again, the wise man listens and then advises him to spend some time reflecting on the times when he was most happy. So, the tired man goes to a cabin in the mountains for some rest. As he is sitting in front of a fireplace, he notices how well made it is, by a craftsman who must have been as engaged in his work as he was when he was cutting the grass. Suddenly in a rush, it hits him: he realizes we must live in the present, we must be able to truly enjoy what we are doing right now. The presence means focusing on what is happening right now, the present moment. He realized that the precious presence was the present moment—the present! Not the past, not the future, but the present — the precious present!
Instantly, the man was happy! He set out to live life differently. He didn’t get so caught up in being successful. He focused instead on enjoying every moment of life. He spent time with his family, he didn’t let things at work bother him as much, and he made the most of every opportunity to find pleasure in the present, forgetting the past, and not worrying about tomorrow, or the things that didn’t concern him.
He let go of a lot of his unnecessary responsibilities. He got a smaller house, rented a little vacation home for weekend getaways, and just smiled and said “sorry” when someone asked for his help with some need in the church and community. There were fewer accomplishments, but each day spent living in the present had rewards of its own.
Then one day, as he scrolled through his Facebook app, he saw a picture of his friend, the wise old man. He was standing with a group of younger people. They were smiling, and the caption read, “Local Church Establishes Memorial Scholarship Fund.” The man was confused, so he read the attached article. The sad truth become clear, his friend had died some time ago, without him even knowing. An important person from his past had been lost while he was busy enjoying the present.
The man grew sad and he felt alone. He had always enjoyed the old man's company, but now he was gone. The wise old man was always happy, he recalled. It wasn't that he lived a carefree life, for the old man certainly experienced his share of pain, but he recalled the joy and purpose he seemed to have. In reflection, it amazed him that the wise man seemed to enjoy the time he had spent helping him years ago. Though the wise man could have spent his time traveling the world, building his wealth, or just living the carefree life, he really seemed to enjoy being there, he seemed happy in his presence.
And then it happened! He didn't know why it happened or how it happened. It just HAPPENED! "Why did I not think of this long ago!” he thought. “I have wasted so much of my life searching for something I already had."
For you see, the presence isn’t material wealth, it isn’t extraordinary life experiences, it isn’t passively living in the moment. The precious presence is the most valuable gift ever given. It makes one happier and more successful than anything else we could ever receive. When we have the presence, we are content to be wherever we are. But, the wealth of the presence comes only from the presence itself. The presence is a gift we must give to ourselves because the presence is ourselves. The presence is just that, being present.
These thoughts began with a story I heard years ago. That story was based on a fictional book by Dr. Spencer Johnson. Over the years, I have adapted the story because it became the story of my life as well.
God knows, if ever there were a universal pacifier, for young and old alike, it would be presence. No one was created to be alone and we want to always be present for those our families, our churches, and favorite ministries. But our earthly, human presence here will not last forever.
Like most people, I just love presence. Thank you for your ongoing presence in the lives of so many through the work of the Foundation! To God be the glory!
