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Today's
quotation:
To a large degree, the measure of our peace of
mind
is determined
by how much we are able
to live in the present moment. Irrespective
of
what
happened yesterday or last year, and
what may or may not
happen
tomorrow, the
present moment is where you are-- always!
Richard
Carlson
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Today's
Meditation:
This is a
surprisingly difficult concept to grasp, it seems.
This present moment, right here and right now, is the only
moment that truly matters, and what we do with this
present moment is what's going to determine how our lives
turn out. And our present moments happen over and
over and over again-- we're forced to decide constantly
what we're going to do with our right heres and our right
nows.
I can
most definitely spend right now planning for
tomorrow. I recently spent a series of present
moments making plane reservations for the spring, when
we'll visit family. But that's the exception rather
than the rule-- one of the most important things I can do
for myself is to be aware of my present moments as present
moments, and do all that I can to be present in them,
noticing what there is to notice, appreciating all there
is to appreciate.
I
think this is one of the beauties of taking walks. A
walk is a break from routine, and that break helps us
focus on the here and now. My wife and I took a walk
yesterday, and we saw spiders, birds, rabbits, a beautiful
snake, a river, trees with turning leaves, and much, much
more. And we noticed it all-- or at least, as much as
we could. And we felt the breeze and the change in
temperature when we hit a shady stretch of the path.
We heard the birds singing and the crickets chirping, and
all in all, the walk was wonderful-- mostly because we were
focused on the present moment and what it brought to us.
The
important thing to remember, though, is that we don't need
to change our surroundings in order to be present in the
moment. We need to change our perspective, our ways
of experiencing where we are and what we're doing.
We need to notice things that we don't typically notice,
and we need to listen and look with care, being mindful of
as much as we can. Then we can say that we're living
the present moment, because then we're aware of most of
the beauty and wonder that moment is offering us.
And we have to trust that what we do in this moment is
worthwhile, as long as we do with our hearts, and do our
best to give what we can to the world-- for the world
definitely will give back to us in the form of the many
present moments that we experience.
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