Meditation for Thursday 21st August 2025
Celebrated spiritual author, psychologist and priest Henri Nouwen wrote extensively about living in the present moment. One of his books was titled, “Here & Now.” I like a little story he wrote title ‘The Hub of Life’ as it illustrates well the importance of being centred one of the fruits of meditation.
“In my home country, the Netherlands, you still see many large wagon wheels, not on wagons, but as decorations at the entrances of farms or on the walls of restaurants. I have always been fascinated by these wagon wheels: with their wide rims, strong wooden spokes, and big hubs. These wheels help me understand the importance of a life lived from the centre. When I move along the rim, I can reach one spoke after the other, but when I stay at the hub, I am in touch with all the spokes at once.”
Nouwen admits to being distracted by the diversity of the many spokes of life, something most of us can relate to, to being all over the place, not focused, not remaining centred.
Nouwen concludes his wagon story by writing that the wagon wheel shows us that the hub is the centre of energy and movement, even when it often seems not to be moving at all.
Meditation
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“Here & Now,” Henri Nouwen. Pub: Darton, Longman & Todd, London 1994
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