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What is a “just-in-time” moment that I am grateful for?
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Every morning when I do my meditations and reflections. I find that they ground me and set up a positive frame of mind for the day particularly if when I just wake up and thoughts feed and activate my monkey mind
This moment. I can only hope, this moment to be just in time. I was deeply grateful the moment before. Hope. Hope to be able to be in time still. I hope. And am grateful for all in this moment also🙏
Funny how “just-in-time” moments are most often recognized in hindsight. Perhaps we need to be more aware of time in the moment and then who’s to say all moments aren’t really “just-in-time”?!
Sometimes while making music I am in state of just listening to the player who is me. Then I wonder who is playing this. Each note is coming just in time and the right way. A special kind of happiness is arising then.
So many things in my life are the result of “just in time” moments. One such moment happened when, after selling my business, I was at a trade show in Vegas, looking for work as a sales representative. It was a very disappointing couple of days. On the last day, I was sitting and waiting for a friend in an empty hallway, when my phone rang, it was someone who was looking for a videographer for a very unique purpose. That was it. I changed direction and started a new business. Saying yes to that person, while not knowing if I could actually do the work, has led to a very fruitful relationship.
My just-in-time moment is the one that put me in my current role, where I get to feel that I’m making a positive difference in the world every day and doing the work I’m meant to do.
I headed a nonprofit for 5 years, then led it into a merger with another to create a larger, stronger organization. I took the #2 role and worked well with the executive director of the other organization who led our combined entity. Then she announced she was leaving and I had to decide if I wanted to go after that top spot. A new role was being created in a state agency and that job posted at a moment that let me decide to go after it wholeheartedly.
I’ve been so glad I did that. The nonprofit struggled for several years after and the pandemic really knocked a hole in their income sources. I’ve made a genuine difference and haven’t had to worry about whether I was fundraising enough to pay an entire staff, including myself–a deep worry as I’m the sole income source in my household.
A memory looms. I’m around 7 years old and I have floated on my back into water too deep for my feet to touch the bottom of the crowded swimming pool. I cannot swim. I panic and begin thrashing the water, bobbing up and down, swallowing what feels like buckets of water. Other kids swim by me but do not recognize my distress. Finally a teenage hand reaches out and grabs mine and pulls me to a pool exit ladder and deposits me on the side of the pool. If not for that “just in time” moment, I doubt I would be celebrating my 80th birthday later this month. Two nights ago, my phone rang at mid-night and woke me up. My sister’s name flashed across the I.D. screen. I answered it immediately, knowing something had to be amiss. When I said hello, she blurted out my 48 year old nephew’s name. She said he was dead. I replied, “What?” She replied, “A massive heart attack!” We are not always given a “just in time” moment. In the last 48 hours, I’ve pondered over the gun violence in our country, the unjustifiable wars raging around our planet, the thirst for power no matter what it costs, the young children who will die from bombs or starvation. As a species, we need a “just in time” moment before we destroy it all.
From pulling in to a parking lot that is full and all of a sudden a car pulls out close to me, opening up a spot I can park in,(small, but needed at the time),to a cancelled appointment at the last moment that left room in my day for a visit from my grandson, to going to a church service-unexpectedly-that seemed to be exactly what I needed to hear at that time in my life, I have had many, many of these moments, and am truly grateful for each and every one.
I read a book on near-death experiences just before my great grandpa’s funeral. At the time, I was worried there is nothing after death, but this book brought me some comfort just before his funeral so I could find the funeral comforting, rather than dreadful.
at first I was at a loss of what to say, then I read others offerings and slowing my mind opened to … and then it kept going.. now the list is long– thank you– a few are– receiving the money I needed to go ahead with surgery, receiving an invitation to host me so that I could make the move to having that surgery, receiving the care of friendship, receiving the gift of hosting when the fire made my place unlivable, receiving gift of money to help me replace some of what was lost, receiving the help I need to move forward with the next surgery, receiving the help I needed to move, receiving the guidance I needed that addressed my fears, receiving an email that guides me to what I need to know to progress on the path….
In January 2017, I was trying to figure out how to escape from my ex-husband. I had made the poor choice 3 years prior to allow him back into my life and move into an apartment attached to his grandmother’s house, so I couldn’t kick him out like I had before. I made a decision a few months prior that I was going to leave… I had to because it got to a point where all I could think was one of us had to die. And that wasn’t what I really wanted. I prayed and meditated and prayed and mediated, begging for help. Asking for the right thing to open up and allow me my life back. So one night that January, I woke and remembered my friend telling me she was going to be getting a new roommate in February. The light clicked, and I texted her in the middle of the night telling her I wanted that room, quickly deleting the text after. We spoke the next day, and she changed her arrangements so that I could move in. There’s no way I could have supported myself on my own, and this was one of the greatest gifts I had ever been given at that time. Even though living with her wasn’t what I thought it would be, it was a step to my freedom and gave me even greater faith in a Higher Power.
Soon after the tree fell on my house and caused me to have to move into temporary quarters, I struggled mightily with missing my home. I was angry. Nothing felt right or settled.
One Sunday, rather than continue to fret, I resolved to live the question of what “home” is and what it means to be at home. Maybe I could discover a different way to experience the situation.
The very next morning I came across this line from the Japanese poet Basho: “Every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home.” I may have actually gasped. I was stunned to receive an answer so quickly.
The words continue to buoy my spirits and remind me that I’m home no matter where I am on the journey.
Home is when what plagues your mind can find rest in your heart. Many times when my monkey mind resists I take my hand, touch my forehead and then place my hand over my heart. I find this gesture very helpful.
My marriage was falling apart. My (now) ex-, a teacher, was home for the summer. I was in my office downstairs, literally said out loud “I need a job” and the phone rang. It was a former boss calling to offer me a job for the summer. I practically fell off the chair. We needed a new roof, so good timing all around. as the job gave us the means for that.
My current job came at ‘just-in-time’ moment as I was out of work for 3 months and was starting to get worried… I’ll always be grateful for that. I just had a mini-vacation and visited my daughters in PA. No issues flying up with American,however, the flight back with SW got ‘modified’ to which I had to cancel and rearrange with new flight – went with American again this time and was able to get flight home next morning. I’m glad I always try to take an extra day off of work after a vaca and this time I ended up needing it for flight arrangements. So that flight home was a ‘just-in-time’ moment I’m grateful for.
Last September the care company that was providing my daily care went bust and ceased trading giving staff and clients just 48 hours notice. Social Services said all they could suggest was to go into a nursing home or have a daily meal delivery. A couple of the care staff were willing to do a few ad hoc calls privately for me for a while but on the Friday evening I had a call from Social Services asking me if I’d like to be taken on by a care company that was being run by a manager I knew from years ago. I jumped at the chance and care was put in place that weekend. I now have a lovely new team of care staff who come in twice a day to help me. There are bumps in the road here and there with times being changed at the last minute and not informing me but on the whole it’s good and I am able to stay in my own home with my elderly cat, Sophie. Two old biddies together still!
Wow, I am really happy for you! Experiences like that can be so stressful, and I am really glad it all turned out to be good for you, and Sophie! Animals help us so much, and are the best companions….
In hindsight I am aware of several “just in time” moments in my life for which I am grateful for. But if I had to choose one I’d have to say that it was the moment I underwent a spiritual conversion in 1977. I was literally standing in the shower with water cascading over me when I suddenly heard and felt the sound of what I believed to be that of the Holy Spirit speaking directly to me. A voice was calling my name, so much so that I flung the shower curtain open and looked around the bathroom thinking that someone, perhaps my wife or one of our young children at the time was talking to me. But I was home alone. The house was empty, or so I thought. After a few moments that sound, that sensation, an energy really, went away. But the moment I stepped out of that shower my life had changed forever.
It took me three weeks to feel able to tell my wife about what I had experienced. Shortly thereafter I began attending a nearby Quaker meeting and have been doing so ever since. I rarely speak or write about that experience long ago. But with my whole heart and soul I know that that moment came just in time, and it changed everything I would do for the rest of my life.
Perfectly stated, Pilgrim. It was rather terrifying, and yet at the same time, an inner sense of calm was slowly taking root within as well. Still, after all these years, I find it uneasy to talk about, and I do so rarely.
In time, my faith community set up prayerful support and spiritual elders in ministry for me to receive guidance from. One comment, from a cherished Quaker minister who was guiding my path into ministry said, “A call to ministry will be your greatest gift and burden.” He was right.
wow Kevin – this brought tears to my eyes… the fact it took you 3 wks to even tell your wife about it speaks volumes… very profound. Thank you for sharing such a personal experience.
During a hike in the mountains in Italy, my husband and I could choose between trespassing or walking around for a few hours. We chose trespassing and got dogs after us 😱. So scary. At the very last moment we were able to climb over a fence. Huge gratitude that we made it. We had a lot of adrenaline. We never crossed trespassing again.
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I am grateful for being able to wake up every morning. Choosing to be happy always and kissing my wife goodbye before I go to work
Every morning when I do my meditations and reflections. I find that they ground me and set up a positive frame of mind for the day particularly if when I just wake up and thoughts feed and activate my monkey mind
This moment. I can only hope, this moment to be just in time. I was deeply grateful the moment before. Hope. Hope to be able to be in time still. I hope. And am grateful for all in this moment also🙏
Pretty much all of them.
Funny how “just-in-time” moments are most often recognized in hindsight. Perhaps we need to be more aware of time in the moment and then who’s to say all moments aren’t really “just-in-time”?!
Sometimes while making music I am in state of just listening to the player who is me. Then I wonder who is playing this. Each note is coming just in time and the right way. A special kind of happiness is arising then.
So many things in my life are the result of “just in time” moments. One such moment happened when, after selling my business, I was at a trade show in Vegas, looking for work as a sales representative. It was a very disappointing couple of days. On the last day, I was sitting and waiting for a friend in an empty hallway, when my phone rang, it was someone who was looking for a videographer for a very unique purpose. That was it. I changed direction and started a new business. Saying yes to that person, while not knowing if I could actually do the work, has led to a very fruitful relationship.
My just-in-time moment is the one that put me in my current role, where I get to feel that I’m making a positive difference in the world every day and doing the work I’m meant to do.
I headed a nonprofit for 5 years, then led it into a merger with another to create a larger, stronger organization. I took the #2 role and worked well with the executive director of the other organization who led our combined entity. Then she announced she was leaving and I had to decide if I wanted to go after that top spot. A new role was being created in a state agency and that job posted at a moment that let me decide to go after it wholeheartedly.
I’ve been so glad I did that. The nonprofit struggled for several years after and the pandemic really knocked a hole in their income sources. I’ve made a genuine difference and haven’t had to worry about whether I was fundraising enough to pay an entire staff, including myself–a deep worry as I’m the sole income source in my household.
A memory looms. I’m around 7 years old and I have floated on my back into water too deep for my feet to touch the bottom of the crowded swimming pool. I cannot swim. I panic and begin thrashing the water, bobbing up and down, swallowing what feels like buckets of water. Other kids swim by me but do not recognize my distress. Finally a teenage hand reaches out and grabs mine and pulls me to a pool exit ladder and deposits me on the side of the pool. If not for that “just in time” moment, I doubt I would be celebrating my 80th birthday later this month. Two nights ago, my phone rang at mid-night and woke me up. My sister’s name flashed across the I.D. screen. I answered it immediately, knowing something had to be amiss. When I said hello, she blurted out my 48 year old nephew’s name. She said he was dead. I replied, “What?” She replied, “A massive heart attack!” We are not always given a “just in time” moment. In the last 48 hours, I’ve pondered over the gun violence in our country, the unjustifiable wars raging around our planet, the thirst for power no matter what it costs, the young children who will die from bombs or starvation. As a species, we need a “just in time” moment before we destroy it all.
I offer my sincere sympathies on the sudden loss of your nephew. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your sister during this difficult time.
Michele, Thank you.
From pulling in to a parking lot that is full and all of a sudden a car pulls out close to me, opening up a spot I can park in,(small, but needed at the time),to a cancelled appointment at the last moment that left room in my day for a visit from my grandson, to going to a church service-unexpectedly-that seemed to be exactly what I needed to hear at that time in my life, I have had many, many of these moments, and am truly grateful for each and every one.
I read a book on near-death experiences just before my great grandpa’s funeral. At the time, I was worried there is nothing after death, but this book brought me some comfort just before his funeral so I could find the funeral comforting, rather than dreadful.
at first I was at a loss of what to say, then I read others offerings and slowing my mind opened to … and then it kept going.. now the list is long– thank you– a few are– receiving the money I needed to go ahead with surgery, receiving an invitation to host me so that I could make the move to having that surgery, receiving the care of friendship, receiving the gift of hosting when the fire made my place unlivable, receiving gift of money to help me replace some of what was lost, receiving the help I need to move forward with the next surgery, receiving the help I needed to move, receiving the guidance I needed that addressed my fears, receiving an email that guides me to what I need to know to progress on the path….
In January 2017, I was trying to figure out how to escape from my ex-husband. I had made the poor choice 3 years prior to allow him back into my life and move into an apartment attached to his grandmother’s house, so I couldn’t kick him out like I had before. I made a decision a few months prior that I was going to leave… I had to because it got to a point where all I could think was one of us had to die. And that wasn’t what I really wanted. I prayed and meditated and prayed and mediated, begging for help. Asking for the right thing to open up and allow me my life back. So one night that January, I woke and remembered my friend telling me she was going to be getting a new roommate in February. The light clicked, and I texted her in the middle of the night telling her I wanted that room, quickly deleting the text after. We spoke the next day, and she changed her arrangements so that I could move in. There’s no way I could have supported myself on my own, and this was one of the greatest gifts I had ever been given at that time. Even though living with her wasn’t what I thought it would be, it was a step to my freedom and gave me even greater faith in a Higher Power.
Soon after the tree fell on my house and caused me to have to move into temporary quarters, I struggled mightily with missing my home. I was angry. Nothing felt right or settled.
One Sunday, rather than continue to fret, I resolved to live the question of what “home” is and what it means to be at home. Maybe I could discover a different way to experience the situation.
The very next morning I came across this line from the Japanese poet Basho: “Every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home.” I may have actually gasped. I was stunned to receive an answer so quickly.
The words continue to buoy my spirits and remind me that I’m home no matter where I am on the journey.
Home is when what plagues your mind can find rest in your heart. Many times when my monkey mind resists I take my hand, touch my forehead and then place my hand over my heart. I find this gesture very helpful.
My marriage was falling apart. My (now) ex-, a teacher, was home for the summer. I was in my office downstairs, literally said out loud “I need a job” and the phone rang. It was a former boss calling to offer me a job for the summer. I practically fell off the chair. We needed a new roof, so good timing all around. as the job gave us the means for that.
My current job came at ‘just-in-time’ moment as I was out of work for 3 months and was starting to get worried… I’ll always be grateful for that. I just had a mini-vacation and visited my daughters in PA. No issues flying up with American,however, the flight back with SW got ‘modified’ to which I had to cancel and rearrange with new flight – went with American again this time and was able to get flight home next morning. I’m glad I always try to take an extra day off of work after a vaca and this time I ended up needing it for flight arrangements. So that flight home was a ‘just-in-time’ moment I’m grateful for.
Last September the care company that was providing my daily care went bust and ceased trading giving staff and clients just 48 hours notice. Social Services said all they could suggest was to go into a nursing home or have a daily meal delivery. A couple of the care staff were willing to do a few ad hoc calls privately for me for a while but on the Friday evening I had a call from Social Services asking me if I’d like to be taken on by a care company that was being run by a manager I knew from years ago. I jumped at the chance and care was put in place that weekend. I now have a lovely new team of care staff who come in twice a day to help me. There are bumps in the road here and there with times being changed at the last minute and not informing me but on the whole it’s good and I am able to stay in my own home with my elderly cat, Sophie. Two old biddies together still!
Wow, I am really happy for you! Experiences like that can be so stressful, and I am really glad it all turned out to be good for you, and Sophie! Animals help us so much, and are the best companions….
In hindsight I am aware of several “just in time” moments in my life for which I am grateful for. But if I had to choose one I’d have to say that it was the moment I underwent a spiritual conversion in 1977. I was literally standing in the shower with water cascading over me when I suddenly heard and felt the sound of what I believed to be that of the Holy Spirit speaking directly to me. A voice was calling my name, so much so that I flung the shower curtain open and looked around the bathroom thinking that someone, perhaps my wife or one of our young children at the time was talking to me. But I was home alone. The house was empty, or so I thought. After a few moments that sound, that sensation, an energy really, went away. But the moment I stepped out of that shower my life had changed forever.
It took me three weeks to feel able to tell my wife about what I had experienced. Shortly thereafter I began attending a nearby Quaker meeting and have been doing so ever since. I rarely speak or write about that experience long ago. But with my whole heart and soul I know that that moment came just in time, and it changed everything I would do for the rest of my life.
Kevin, Thanks for sharing. I hear you loud and clear.
Incredible, Kevin. A rather terrifying gift!
Perfectly stated, Pilgrim. It was rather terrifying, and yet at the same time, an inner sense of calm was slowly taking root within as well. Still, after all these years, I find it uneasy to talk about, and I do so rarely.
In time, my faith community set up prayerful support and spiritual elders in ministry for me to receive guidance from. One comment, from a cherished Quaker minister who was guiding my path into ministry said, “A call to ministry will be your greatest gift and burden.” He was right.
wow Kevin – this brought tears to my eyes… the fact it took you 3 wks to even tell your wife about it speaks volumes… very profound. Thank you for sharing such a personal experience.
Thank you, Michele. This is not a story I share randomly, but is one I knew that I could do so here.
During a hike in the mountains in Italy, my husband and I could choose between trespassing or walking around for a few hours. We chose trespassing and got dogs after us 😱. So scary. At the very last moment we were able to climb over a fence. Huge gratitude that we made it. We had a lot of adrenaline. We never crossed trespassing again.