Being Present. Sages believe that there is wisdom in this. Yet, how many of us really live this way? Why don’t we? Too much baggage from the past? Too much worry over the future? Both of which are no longer in our control. We’ve heard that the present is the gift. That we only have power in the present.
Yet, for me, it feels like somehow I avoid the present in one way or another. Thoughts slip in sideways and take me down a path I don’t care to go. And then, the moment is lost to me. I don’t think we can ever effectively escape these sideways distractions. They seem to be integral to our lives. We’re often planning for the next thing. However, once-in-awhile, I have that experience of being precisely where I am, doing (or not doing) exactly what I’m doing. Sometimes, I’m fully present with someone else. I’m seeing them, hearing them, responding to them, experiencing the moment with them. Yet, it’s so rare. How come I can’t harness the fleeting moment and be comfortable within it?
Here’s a poem where I pondered just that…
And Then What?
by Christine O’Brien
on stopping and being present
in this one particular moment
leaving everything pending, undone
unattended
I read that if I died
all the activities
I deemed important
would die with me
for who would be interested
in taking up the threads of my existence
and continuing the odd weave?
sometimes I don’t want
this warp and woof I’ve created.
start anew…
I wonder if there is another me
on another side
of this thinning veil
cheering me on
rah rah
if I could claw a way through to her
merge with her
know the secrets
I already know
live the life
that dreamers awaken to
be real
on this plane
could I drop all the tasks
so self-important
really live while I’m alive?
oh sweet adventure
oh daring & renewed fascination
now, the wind does howl
and the wood crackles in the stove
spring has slipped backwards
into winter
it’s been a long day
the bath is ready
I’m tired
and anything profound
is more than I desire
this stopping and being present
is so lush.
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Do you feel you are fully present, partially present or rarely present to what’s in front of you? Today? Right now?