In my Chinese lesson today, I learned that the Chinese word for “everyday” is “meitian.” It just struck me that the same syllable “mei” has also the meaning of “beautiful” (among many other meanings). At any rate, the word stuck and I was even able to “build a spirituality” around the term.“Meitian,” that is, "everyday,” is a beautiful day. It is a carrier of possibilities, of promises, as this Zen saying goes:
Not twice this day
Inch time foot gem.
This day will not come again.
Each minute is worth a priceless gem. (by Zen Master-Takuan)
“Meitian,” we are called to commit ourselves to live life anew. This is the only day that is ours. This is God’s present to us. Says Ian Stackhouse in his The Day is Yours: "All we can do is to enter into the realities of this day, believing that grace will fill it. The only day I can existentially commit to is today. This is the only day we can live. Tomorrow will arrive, sure enough. But God promises to be there. For now, I am called to embrace this day: its uniqueness, its shape, its context, and its boundaries. God’s unit is a day. "
Indeed, “meitian” is a gift, a miracle, a sacrament. Jean-Pierre De Caussade in The Sacrament of the Present Moment shares this light: “The present moment holds infinite riches beyond your wildest dreams but you will only enjoy them to the extent of your faith and love. The more a soul loves, the more it longs, the more it hopes, the more it finds. The will of God is manifest in each moment, an immense ocean which only the heart fathoms insofar as it overflows with faith, trust and love.”
