Right Here, Right Now

Truth lies within ourselves: it takes no rise from outward things, whatever you may believe. – Robert Browning

There is a Hindu expression that I heard years ago that I too often forget when I am feeling bereft of inspiration and my faith wears thin. It is simple; profoundly simple. “All this struggling to learn when all I need to do is remember.” It speaks of the immediate answer to what we long for, what we have sought and studied and grasped to attain from time immemorial.

When I am judging my life superficially, I can come up with a laundry list of things, situations, and circumstances that are lacking, missing, or broken and glibly blame for why I am not feeling happy or peaceful in this moment. This externalization of the source of my wellbeing comes naturally when I am seeing myself as a separate self that is vulnerable to the ups and downs of life. It is the default mechanism of the ego that has no palpable sense of connection to Life, and thus finds itself tossed about by the ever-shifting lifescape that is the human journey. When I am stuck in this limited perception of myself life is a persistent “seek but not find” odyssey, where endless effort yields struggle sans satisfaction. We have all experienced this dynamic, perhaps more than we would like to admit.

Never mind the sage wisdom to the contrary, which admonishes us to refrain from seeking happiness in outer circumstances or relationships or substances. We are slow to learn, or more to the point, slow to remember.

The good news is remembering is a lot easier than learning. Remembering is how we reacquaint our conscious mind with what we have already learned, or previously known, or experienced. We have all touched the garment of Truth. We have known moments of peace and wellbeing that felt deep and independent of what was happening around us. Such irrational moments of wellbeing are often catalyzed not by changing situations or shifts in circumstances but by internal shifts of heart or mind brought about by sparks of beauty, truth, or love. Such moments bear witness to the reality of the Source of happiness and peace as that which already resides within us. Sages of all the great spiritual traditions affirm the present moment portal to peace and happiness. Jesus was unequivocal in his assertion that the kingdom of heaven is within you and deflected the egoic notion of our good being at some time in the future when he said, “You say, 4 months, then comes the harvest. I say the fields are already ripe.” St. Francis reflected similarly with stunning profundity, The One you are looking for is the One who is looking.

This notion of an indwelling resolution to all we ache for confounds our egoic mind because it is entirely outer-focused and rooted in a strictly material view of life. We, therefore “overlook” the Presence of God (by any name) when we do not suspend the searching mind activity and get sufficiently quiet so that we might appreciate the depth of our own Being where happiness resides.

So let’s take up the practice that can lead us back home, return our awareness to our Source, and suspend the Prodigal wanderings of our seeking minds. The very notion that you are created in God’s image and likeness, must be contemplated sincerely and quietly, and its truth will reveal itself in the knowing of your Divine nature that is never apart from you. What we are seeking is here and now. That’s the resurrection story that is yours and mine to live and relive in every moment of remembrance.

Peace and blessings,

Larry