This month’s moment is by Ana Mullan, a spiritual director and artist in Dublin.

There is something that my husband says I do “religiously”, that is to swim from Monday to Friday at a local swimming pool. I start at 9 o’clock in the morning and swim for half an hour. I have my favourite lane which is the fast lane and I love when I arrive and there is nobody else swimming there.

A couple of months ago, I arrived slightly later and somebody was swimming in “my lane”. I got extremely frustrated because I had to swim in the next lane, which I don’t like. My level of frustration took the joy of the swimming and left me in a bad mood. Later on the day I tried to discern why I got so annoyed about something so small. As I spent time with Jesus, his gentle voice asked me the following: “Ana, did you buy the lane?” To what I replied: "No"

This simple question led me to see that I was considering myself more important than others, that I have more rights to be swimming in that lane than others. I spent time asking Jesus to forgive me for having been so self-centred, so consumed with myself, I was saying “no” to something much bigger and freeing.

The following day I said to the Lord: “Lord, I pray that today somebody will be in my lane”. I wanted to learn to respond in His way not mine. But you know what? Nobody was in my lane.

People say: “We learn by experience” but somebody very wise said to me: “We learn by reflecting on our experience”.

Here is the difference: What I learnt by experience was not to be later than 9 o’clock.

What I learnt by reflecting on my experience was to pay attention to the inner movements that rob me from joy and peace and to ask why. In this way I can work with Jesus towards living freely and lightly.