THE COUNSELOR'S CORNER: A week of reflection

For many people, this is called Holy Week. It is a week of reflection. Many different faiths reserve time for reflection. It becomes a time to go deeper spiritually. Quiet time can accomplish this. Community and religious gatherings can help accomplish spiritual depth. For years this week has been very helpful to me. I usually attend all the Holy Week Services. All this time spent in quiet reflection and community reflection has become a great exercise in examining my connection with God. Each moment of life becomes a chance to move slowly. It is discovering a connection with God in the present moment. This week helps me to realize that every day is a holy day. The slow movement of this week challenges me to experience each moment of life as a holy moment: a moment to move slow and be reflective and experience God in this moment. Each moment becomes a moment of gratitude. This week helps me to realize that time spent in condemning and judging others is not helpful. It helps me realize that the more I encounter God, the less judgmental I become. It is in the gentle embrace of this moment that I can slow down and experience a profound peace. A week spent in a reflective attitude teaches me to look deeper at my life. It teaches me more about the purpose of my life. It teaches me the meaning of each moment of life. Gathering with other people who share their feelings humbly and lovingly enriches my life. Even a Zoom baby shower can become a reflective experience. I witnessed one today and saw such love and kindness present in the many people there. So inspiring. Such a sacred presence of care and compassion radiated from these caring people. There is a sense of the sacred when people are gently reflective. This sense of the sacred is also powerfully present when people humbly and lovingly share with one another. Every day is an opportunity to go deeper spiritually. Every moment can be an experience that is inspiring and brings strength and wisdom into my heart. Every moment can be an experience of God. I simply need to slow down and pay focused attention to this moment. When I do this, I discover the profound simplicity of life. This Holy Week, which I realize should be every week, can open my mind and heart to experience God. This experience brings an attitude of love. It brings a reflective sense of calm. It brings an experience of peaceful wisdom. I begin to realize that any investment in negativity and condemnation of others limits me. But compassion and care for others brings me peace and slows me down to experience God in a deeper way. Kind and loving people draw me into the sacred presence of a Loving God. What a sacred gift it is to know kind and loving people. Quiet, reflective time with God helps me let go of my armor and defenses and helps me to open my heart to this loving and sacred Presence of God. No one has to believe in God in the exact same way I do but it is beneficial for everyone to have a Holy Week or a Holy Day. In this way each person can have an inner experience of a loving God by quiet reflection. And each person can have a conscious action of extending love and compassion toward others. This becomes an amazing way to live. And this Holy Week or Holy Day is always before us in this present moment. For me, this is a great way to start this Holy Week. But I am not realizing that each moment is sacred. I must do this in each moment. -------- Fred Cavaiani is a licensed marriage & family therapist and limited licensed psychologist with a private practice in Troy. He is the founder of Marriage Growth Center. He conducts numerous programs for groups throughout Michigan. Cavaiani is associate editor and contributing writer for Human Development Magazine. His column in the Legal News runs every other Tuesday. He can be reached at 248-362-3340. His e-mail address is: Fredcavi@yahoo.com and his website is FredsCounselorsCorner.com. Published: Tue, Mar 30, 2021