[to muse (myooz), v. to think, gaze, or say wonderingly]

Mind the gap! Mind the gap!

This is the familiar command heard over the loudspeaker system when riding the London Tube (subway system) as a person prepares to depart at one's station. The "gap" is the thin space between the train car and the station floor. Mind the gap is the reminder to take notice of the space, of the opening so as not to trip and fall.

Mind the gap is a cue to take notice of what we often might not see in front of our very eyes. Sometimes we call this "mindfulness." Mindfulness can be practiced in our homes and on our streets. It takes open ears and eyes, and an open heart. It takes time to stop and be available to the world around us, to the people around us, to the person in front of us--eyes to really see and ears to really hear what is there: the wonders, the beauty, the screaming needs, and the silent sorrows in ourselves and in others--time to take notice of the space and openings right before our eyes.

I read a story recently that mentioned two institutions on our Main Streets that symbolize two different entities. On one corner we find our fast food restaurants. These can seduce us into a racing mentality. In the drive-thru, when we hear a voice, barely see a person, are given food--all without turning off the car engine. On the opposite corner we find our congenial coffee shops, inviting us into an entirely different approach to being alive and being human. We are encouraged to sit down, slow down, enjoy a book or a newspaper, maybe even talk with another person in person.

From my musings point of view, I believe Jesus was a person who knew how to mind the gap--minding those spaces and openings right in front of him. Jesus minded the gap, noticing the wonders, the beauty, the struggles, and the sorrows right in front of him! Might we live with such mindfulness! Mind the gaps of life! Mind the gap!