Wait. Before you answer this question, let me suggest that you follow just one simple rule. You are free to pass judgment on this moment but with only one caveat. Don’t compare it to any other moment. That’s the only rule. Now go ahead and judge away.
(Contemplative time passes)
How did it go? Notice anything remarkable? If you truly excluded any comparison to past (remembered) or future (imagined) moments, you likely have a very neutral feeling about this present moment. Maybe even a sense of equanimity, or peaceful acceptance. And it shouldn’t surprise us, should it, since Truth is always the way we bring suffering to an end. And Truth is not tainted by history, memory, beliefs, or desires. As Gibran noted, “life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.”
It is the nature of the mind-made self to continually evaluate what is happening in the context of our personal preferences. And our preferences are always for something that has been or something that might be, but never what is here and now. This preference is rooted in a sense of “not enough.” Its rejection of this moment is rooted in a belief that there is something missing, or lacking, that if I had it I would be better off and could be more content than I am now.
Right now, each of us could make out a list of what we would like to be different in our lives. Maybe you want to lose some weight, or have a better relationship with your significant other, or enjoy more financial freedom. Such goals and desires are not a problem in and of themselves. The problem comes when those desires are the conditions that we have decided are the barriers to our well-being. When those imagined realities become the holy grail of happiness, they become like the carrot leading the donkey, always out front, keeping us longing, and contentment out of reach. And because then (imagined reality of the future) will be the moment of promise, this moment (not there yet) sucks!
Granted it is normal human nature to seek progress, grow, and evolve over time. That’s not the problem. It is when we start from a judgment of this moment, an indictment of what is, that dooms the entire journey to discontentment until the imagined future is here. And when we condemn this moment, we are edging God out. The Presence and Power and Love of God are not time-bound or conditional, neither rising with good circumstances nor declining with bad ones. This that we are seeking is present, here and now so unless we are present, we’ll miss it, by looking to the horizon for better times, better moments, anywhere but here, anytime but now.
If this message is new to you, or if it has faded in clarity, I suggest you go back and read “The Power of Now”, by Eckhart Tolle, which remains one of the most accessible and clear introductions and guides to living with equanimity by embracing the present moment. This is the most important realization we can make in a lifetime, that what we are seeking, that our minds have told us is something other than this, is actually at hand. To know our true essential nature is the holy grail of the spiritual life. Any self-improvement effort that does not lead us to this realization is guaranteed to keep us on the hamster wheel of seeking but not finding.
So we do not need to abandon our goals, only the notion that peace and happiness are tied to them. That would be a fatal mistake and keep us in a perpetual state of dissatisfaction. Let us remember to honor this moment, accept its reality and be as open-hearted and fully present as possible. Here we will find the portal into the truth of our very being, and the peace that “passeth human understanding.”
Peace and blessings,
Rev. Larry
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