Yesterday's
history, tomorrow's a mystery, this very moment is a gift. Hey,
you reckon that's why they call it the "present"?
To
fully understand this magical state of being present, let's
take a look at my dog Bob or your pet ferret or goldfish or
horse. They're continually demonstrating something BIG to us.
They're staging a very important lesson for you and me about
LIVING IN THE NOW.
I
know I know, we've heard all our lives to not worry about tomorrow
and to not stew over yesterday. But I have something much richer
for you. I want you and me to dance with this thought called
the present and see what's staring us in the face.
Listen,
the past and the future are WAY overrated! I mean, the
past is over! It's gone! And yet many of us stay there!
The only things still alive are memories, guilt & resentment.
And the future...it doesn't even exist! It hasn't happened
yet! And yet we spend tons of time and energy there in our
worrying and fear. One's gone forever and the other doesn't
exist! I highly recommend the present. Not THAT'S real!
I
watch folks try to make a marriage work or try to have a romance,
all along while not living in the present. But guess where love
lives? You guessed it...IN THE PRESENT! And we must go there
to experience love.
"But
of course I live in the present!"
Obsessively
worrying over tomorrow's rent or carrying around that resentment
from yesterday TAKES YOU OUT OF THE PRESENT. Ever carry on a
conversation with someone who obviously couldn't wait to finish
your statement so they can get their two cents in? That's what
absence from the present looks like. Ugly aint it? Don't you
just wanna put a goldfish in their shorts? That's being anywhere
but in the here...right here...and now.
You
know where my life is? Right here and now as I type this sentence.
Oops that sentence is gone and so here's another one. Oh, and
that one's gone and now here's another one. This is
IT. This is my present right here.
The
magic of living in the present is this. When I'm present I CONNECT
with you. I am experiencing you. All of you. And all of me.
I hear things never heard before. I understand what you're saying
and not saying, I experience what I'm really feeling.
You
know the one of the biggest "present killers"? JUDGMENT.
In fact that sets up an awesome, life-giving exercise for you
to try.
"But
of course I live in the present!"