I am learning to “lay back in the cut.”  Roughly, it means to relax, to just be, without the need for constant activity or stimulation or anxiety or worry or (fill in the blank).  My husband, who is more acquainted with the hip-hop music genre than I will ever be, introduced me to this phrase.  In a tone of instruction, not information– as in, “You need to just lay back in the cut once in awhile.”  Like a needle on the groove of a record.  Stay in the groove and let it spin without any voluntary action on my part.  That imagery really resonated with me.  It has texture.  I can visualize it.

For me, laying back in the cut means to just shut my mind off every once in awhile. I am constantly thinking (or perhaps over-thinking is more appropriate).  While I do embrace that trait of my introverted self, I know that sometimes it is even more soul-satisfying to fully embrace the present by consciously blocking out the noise and taking life in with my other senses.  The “sacrament of the present moment,” as author Ken Gire writes.  The present is sacred because we are not promised tomorrow.  Further, God may be trying to communicate with me in this present experience that I so readily discard for my own thoughts. Also, I’ve found that my relationships are richer and deeper if I just learn to “be” when I am with others.  Not making sure that my point is heard or even that I am getting something out of this interaction.  Just being fully present.  That’s all. And that’s enough.

So laying back in the cut may mean consecrating myself for the present moment.  Which is different than only living for today.  The former makes me more conscious of my dependence on my Creator, more aware of my place in the universe, whereas the latter may make me careless or reckless.  Or thoughtless.  Not a place that I ever want to be.