Within T.S. Eliot’s poem East Coker, one stanza has long resonated with me:

"Old men ought to be explorers.

Here and there does not matter.

We must be still and still moving

Into another intensity

For another union, a deeper communion."

I love the thought that even as we grow older, we are still called to exploration. Though that exploration might not look like it did at a younger age, it is nonetheless a calling. “Still and still moving” is the way of spiritual life: patient, persistent, attentive, and open - open to discover new depths of God’s presence in us and around us.

Jesus once told his disciples, “Abide in me, and I in you.” (John 15:4). To abide in Christ is not passivity. It is a continual opening of ourselves to God’s presence, a conscious willingness to be shaped, nurtured, and guided. Like Eliot’s explorers, we remain in motion—spiritually curious, searching for a deeper union with God—even as we learn to move with stillness, attentiveness, and trust.

These days, when change happens at lightning speed, when information constantly bombards us, and the demands of daily life can feel overwhelming, it is worth pausing to ask ourselves:

* Where in your life today might God be inviting you into “another intensity” or “a deeper communion”?

* Where might you be called to move gently, with attentiveness, while also being still enough to notice God’s presence?

* What ordinary moments or relationships could become holy spaces if you opened them to Christ’s abiding love?

Exploration is not only for the young or the restless. It is for anyone willing to remain open, to pay attention, and to let God lead us ever deeper into life and communion. Even in the quiet, even in the ordinary, God continues to meet us, calling us into fuller presence, awareness, and grace.

Let us pray:  God of hope and grace, we pause even for a moment now in your presence, asking you to guide us in a deeper communion with you. Help us to know you, to love you, and to abide with you; in Christ and through Christ. Amen.

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