By Sam Aitchison
The Church is Alive!
It seems like just yesterday I was packing up my car and leaving my hometown of Iowa City, heading south to St. Louis to begin college. I recall the nerves, the fear and the uncertainty that accompanied that transition. Now, three years later, I am entering my senior year and wondering how time could have moved so quickly.
This week, I came across a poem that stopped me in my tracks. “Slow Dance” by psychologist David L. Weatherford captures perfectly the emotions I’ve been feeling as I approach this season of “lasts.” The poem begins:
“Have you ever watched kids on a merry-go-round?
Or listened to the rain slapping on the ground?
Ever followed a butterfly’s erratic flight?
Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?
You better slow down. Don’t dance so fast.
Time is short. The music won’t last.”
My college years so far have been full — classes, jobs, leadership roles, volunteering and time with friends. It’s a joyful kind of busy but amidst the busyness, it has been easy to lose sight of what’s happening in front of me.
Reading Weatherford’s poem felt like a holy interruption at the perfect time. As the fall semester approaches, I’m going to try to live this time with intention, to savor it and be truly present. Soon, I’ll begin the “lasts” — first day of class, fall orientation and homecoming weekend. I want to be fully awake and present to them.
Throughout college, there’s always been a next step to look forward to — student leadership roles, upper-level classes, internships and eventually graduation. While these milestones have been good goals to work toward, I’ve also realized that the constant looking forward can take away from the graces in the present moment.
Pope Benedict XVI once wrote, “Life is not just a succession of experiences and events. It is a search for the true, the good, and the beautiful.” This quote is something to reflect on as I strive to live this final school year with intentionality.
For me, that might look like taking walks at sunset across campus, lingering longer at meals with friends or carving out time for weekly and daily reflection. I believe these small, ordinary moments will carry deep beauty if I’m truly present.
Many of us enter a busier time as a new school year begins — students, teachers, professors, families and communities. Whether or not we’re heading back to school, the end of summertime offers opportunity for reflection. In what ways can we slow down, live more intentionally and be truly present to God’s wonder and goodness? The song won’t last forever. Yet there’s still time to hear it, if our hearts are open to truly listening.
(Sam Aitchison is a senior at Saint Louis University. Contact him at samaitchison6@ gmail.com.)
