Allow me to muse for a minute and not be practical at all in this post.
Allow me to ramble for a post and not be too organized.
This one is kind of a "idea dump."
ONE:
When we are present to another, than we experience presence and they experience presence with us.
God's Presence is with me, but I am not always aware of or attuned to His Presence. Part of the Christian journey is to have a growing ability to be present to and with God, attuned to His Presence.
TWO:
The word PRESENT has a dual meaning.
To be PRESENT means to show up, to be there, to be on site, to be with.
A PRESENT is a gift.
Here is the word play. To be PRESENT, i.e. show up, to be there, to be with another is a PRESENT/gift to that person.
So God's PRESENCE is the greatest PRESENT He gives to us.
THREE:
The more fully I live in His Presence, the more fully I am able to be present with others and allow His Presence to flow through me. And that becomes a present to the world.
In the language of Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection, to practice the Presence of God is the way to have a corresponding Presence/Present to the world.
Here is the mystery. The Practice of God's Presence (the mystical encounter with God) is the way to Practice being Present to, with, in and for the world (the missional encounter with the world).
It is the way of mystic missionality or being a missional mystic.
It is the Ignatian Way of Proceeding.
It is the way of Brother Lawrence.
Give the gift of your presence today and as you do, you are giving the gift of God's Presence to those around you.
Brian K. Rice
Leadership ConneXtions International
www.lci.typepad.com