Being Present and Shrimp Fettuccini

During our Fuel the Body, Fuel the Soul meeting on March 13th, Sister Marilyn Lott, CSJ spoke with participants about living in the present. For fueling the body, Sister Suzanne Giro, CSJ provided her recipe for homemade shrimp fettuccini. Find the shrimp fettuccini recipe and a recording of Sister Marilyn’s presentation below!

Fuel the Body, Fuel the Soul is a monthly series held on Zoom. Each session features an introduction to a healthy recipe presented by a sister, a presentation focusing on a spiritual topic and discussion and prayer with a community of women from around the country. There is no cost to attend. Join us for our next meeting!

Time: 30 minutes

Yield: 2-3 servings

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• Fettuccini pasta
• Bag of peeled shrimp
• Italian seasoning
• Salt
• Pepper
• Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Prepare fettuccini pasta according to its instructions. While preparing the pasta, sauté onions and garlic in olive oil. Add shrimp and seasonings to taste to the sauté pan. Let simmer for about 10 minutes. Drain the pasta and return it to its pot. Add the sautéed mixture to the pasta pot and stir, making sure to evenly coat the pasta. Plate the fettuccini and serve with Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top. Enjoy!

The butterfly counts not months but moments and has time enough.

Rabindranath Tagore

This beautiful quote—which I used to keep it up in my classroom when I was teaching the little ones—I have carried it with me from mission to mission for a long time. It continues to move me, especially when I think of being present to the moment.

I worked at St. Louis University Hospital, which is kind of our inner-city hospital here in St. Louis, as a chaplain after I was with the novitiate. What I started realizing, especially in the emergency room, was we don’t know how much time we have. Do we have ten more minutes or ten more years?

After accidents or violence brought people to the hospital, I would go down to take care of families, bringing them in and being with them. People would come to the hospital after a horrendous accident and not make it. We would bring the family in, and they would say to me, “We argued last night. I didn’t get a chance to say I’m sorry.”

Even in my work at Nazareth Living Center, an assisted living community, you never know how long you have with people. I was talking to a resident the other day, and he said, “I’m here because this will be the last place I live. I have no regrets. I love the life I’ve had, and I want to continue as long as I can now.” And I thought, Oh my gosh, he’s got it together. He has since passed, but he amazed me. He was so put together, knowing he was dying and he loved it. He loved life and wasn’t fearful.

He and the words of that quote remind me to slow down, to appreciate the small joys and to savor the magic of the present.

The butterfly’s perception of time isn’t bound by our calendars, our deadlines. It’s rooted in a deep appreciation of the now. They don’t live long, but they make the most of what they have. I’ve learned to see the world, most days, as a wonder. Interconnectedness with everything that we see is so important.

It’s so easy to live in the past. How often have you lived in the past, thinking to yourself, “Only if!” The secret of health, for both mind, body and spirit is to not mourn the past, worry about the future or anticipate troubles.

There are times we have to learn from the past. I believe the only true mistake is not learning from your mistakes. If we continue to learn from what we do, then that is a gift. However, while we must learn from the past, we cannot live in it. We get that self discovery of who we are and keep moving on.

Choosing to live the past or the future robs us of the enjoyment of today. Living the present moment means actively focusing on your current experiences and sensations rather than dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. It’s about being fully aware and engaged in what’s happening right now.

Now, that’s not easy to do. I struggle with it too! It takes work and lots of practice. It’s so easy to get caught up in work and what needs to get done. When I go to work, I never know who I’m going to meet or what I’m going to face. I have to try to be present to the people I interact with and not worry about what I can or cannot get done.

Sometimes I’ll look at how many people who’ve just entered our long-term care or our rehab center and haven’t been seen yet, and I think, Oh my gosh! There’s no way! But when I go in, I have some of the best visits with people. Even if I don’t see everyone that day or get everything done, it is very powerful to be with people while living in the present moment.

Here are some tips for living in the present:

• Take a deep breath to settle yourself in the moment.
• Intentionally observe your thoughts and feelings without judgment.
• Try not to dwell on past mistakes. The only mistake is not learning from them.
• Set aside distractions. Take a break from things like social media and your phone. What are those distractions keeping you from?
• Actively notice details around you, paying close attention to your surroundings and bodily sensations.
• Try to focus on one thing at a time. While it might feel more productive to multitask, constantly juggling tasks makes it hard to be in the present.
• Pay close attention to what you’re doing. If you’re eating something, think about it. How does it taste? What does it smell like? What is the texture?
• Let go of how you think things should be, and be open to the way that they are. You cannot control everything that happens around you.
• Take time to be grateful for what you have in the moment. Appreciate where you are, what you’re doing and who is with you.

As it’s Lent, I want to tie living in the present to prayer. Prayer encourages a pause to intentionally focus on the presence of God in the present moment, allowing a deeper level of communion and a more authentic expression of your spiritual life.

Are you aware of God working in you as you meet somebody? Before visiting with or counseling someone, I say a prayer that I have open ears, an open heart and an open mind to hear what they’re saying. Just a little quiet prayer to pull me into that moment, saying, “God be with me in this.” My intention is to open up to God, trusting God to lead me one moment at a time. Colossians 3:17 reminds us that whatever we do, whether in word or deed, we must do in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God through him.

Creator God, I trust you to lead me one moment at a time today.

Lord, your presence brings significance to the small moments of my day.

Show me, Lord, what you’re already doing today, that I might align my ways with yours.

Open my eyes to attitudes that grieve you today.

Let me hear your voice, see you in others and, above all, live today with you in the present moment.

Amen.