What could be so important?

I am running around marathon multistasking today.  This meditation helped me go back to a better place:

What Could Be So Important?

Make not treasures on earth, where moth
and rust corrupt and thieves break in and steal.  Find your treasures in heaven. Wherever a man’s
treasures are, there will be his heart. — Jesus Christ

When I travel, I carry a black briefcase that contains all of my important materials, including a computer, airline tickets, checks I have received, and an address book. Because these items are so vital, I keep the briefcase with me almost all the time. Before delivering a lecture one evening, I set the briefcase down next to the stage, and when I looked for it after the talk, it was not there. Suddenly my heart seemed to skip a beat, and I felt a sinking feeling in my chest. My fear that the satchel had been stolen was almost debilitating. When I asked the lecture sponsor if she had seen the briefcase, she answered, “Oh, yes, I put it in my office for safekeeping. ”

While I was relieved that the briefcase was safe, I could not help but notice how I had tied my peace to it. I asked myself, “What in that brief–case could be so important that I would lose the peace of God with it? ” I wondered how much the anxiety over protecting the property had cost me in the long run. It was a poor trade. What you possess, possesses you. Whenever we value a thing more than happiness, we pay a dear price. Things can be replaced, but peace cannot.

Is there anything you value so much that you would lose your happiness if you lost it? Have your succumbed to worshiping at the altar of fear rather than the citadel of trust? What is your black briefcase?

The Sufis suggest, “Do not value anything that could be washed over–board from a ship. ” When we remember we are here to love, all else becomes secondary.

Help me keep You first today.
Let me not make any false gods before You.

I live to love. I am safe. My heart is at peace.

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This meditation is an excerpt from Alan Cohen's meditation book, A Deep Breath of Life. If you liked today's meditation, please support the author and purchase the book by clicking here.

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