living in the present

The reason why some people love to engage in dangerous activities, such as mountain climbing, car racing, and so on, although they may not be aware of it, is that it forces them into the Now -- that intensely alive state that is free of time, free of problems, free of thinking, free of the burden of the personality.

Eckhart Tolle

This NOW moment is all that we have yet we can hardly ever live in it. So true in the quote the extremes we go to feel present. We have to literally throw ourselves out of a plane to feel exhilaration. It’s an extreme but you are sure to feel present and stop the mind from all the chatter. The truth is that we don’t really need to be so extreme to feel that absolute awesomeness of a moment. We just have to be that present. Have you ever been to a live performance? It has that same feeling where you know anything could happen, right now. It’s alive and real and in the moment and you are there to experience it. We treat these events as special. We look at this as something outside of us and then it’s back to our lives.

We have the power to live in this space all the time. We don’t have to be anything or have anything more than you already have. You just have to have more invested in the present moment than in the past or the future. The world is our stage. We are able to speak without scripts and do anything we choose. What are you doing with your life? Are you trying to follow a script? Write your own and see what happens. Choose to be alive and live in the present where anything is possible. If you’re a living in the present you can tap into a life that is free of all the constraints that living in the past gives you.

Today, just be here in this present moment all day long. Notice everything and everyone.

Today I am grateful for my family and how they are showing up in support of this blog. I am grateful to share the present with them.

no blame, just understanding

When you plant lettuce, if it does not grow well, you don't blame the lettuce. You look for reasons it is not doing well. It may need fertilizer, or more water, or less sun. You never blame the lettuce.
Yet if we have problems with our friends or family, we blame the other person. But if we know how to take care of them, they will grow well, like the lettuce. Blaming has no positive effect at all, nor does trying to persuade using reason and arguments.

That is my experience. No blame, no reasoning, no argument, just understanding.

Thich Nhat Hahn

We live in a society that accepts blame as a normal means of dealing with life. When something goes wrong we quickly look for the reason and who is to blame. We position ourselves so that it’s not our fault and then we carry on. This is the way that keeps you living in the world of right and wrong. I am right and you are wrong. This is where we position ourselves.

I think there is another way. It will challenge your way of thinking. If you didn’t need to be right and didn’t need to figure out who is wrong, what would that be like? What if you took personal responsibility? What if your integrity meant that you apologized for what is yours to own and honored what is yours to honor. It’s not about anyone else, it’s about you. Integrity means honoring who you really are. What if you become what you are meant to be? This is also being in integrity with yourself. You have gifts and talents that only you can express. If you are spending your time in blame then you are not honoring yourself. You are coping out. If this is your life and you alone are responsible for your life than what can you do with it?

Stop filling your head with things that don’t serve your life. Learn about what’s being done to make life better. If you focus on what is broken then that is all you will see, “a broken life”

I just had to get all of that out. That quote struck a chord in me. I see so clearly how this blaming society only cripples us. I work really hard in my life to stay out of blame. It’s a challenge but has made a huge difference in my life. If I stop looking “out there” to justify my life then it forces me to look inward. If I do my best and do what I say I’m going to do and most important apologize when I can’t then this life becomes a whole lot easier and clear. I just feel great and it’s moments like this that I get to see how far I have come. I am grateful for the opportunity to see and the opportunity to keep seeing.

Today, when you want to blame someone for something, try to hold back, try to see another way.

stay with it

It’s not who you are that holds you back, it’s who you think you’re not. Unknown

So this morning I have been in my own struggle to write and be accountable to the words I am putting out there. I have been distracted and felt like I had cotton mouth when I attempted to write. I felt fidgety and wanted to just skip the day. I chose not to. I chose to work through my mood at the moment and find my center and then start to write. It took a couple of hours. For me, I can easily change directions and not stick with something if something else comes along. This is why writing this blog everyday is so important to me. I am creating a habit for myself to dedicate time everyday in the development of B the change, in the development of me.

In the face of your struggle what do you choose?

How you show up in life is all on you. We all have so much power within ourselves to create more than we can even imagine yet we get so fixed on what we perceive is wrong and can’t move beyond that. Your days are completely dependent on your ability to see the truth. When we get caught up in chaos we lose sight and forget who we really are.

Today, find your peace in the midst of the chaos.

Today, I am grateful for my peaceful space.

stillness

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.

Gandhi

What a great way to say that when you are aligned with yourself you will experience happiness. Nowhere in there was; when you get the great job, win the lottery, get the bigger house or get it all done. Yet many of us are holding out for happiness to arrive after the things are in place. It’s a set up. You are waiting for circumstances to dictate your wellbeing. How about you dictate your wellbeing?

What if you make your only mission of the day to align yourself to find your center? I always say that life will always throw us curve balls. There will always be someone that tests us and makes us angry. It’s in how you deal with it. It’s how quickly you can let go and get back to your center. You can’t live in harmony and make someone wrong at the same time. It is a great sign of strength when you can let go of proving and making wrong. It means you are more committed to your own happiness. It’s easy to argue what makes you angry but it’s hard to communicate it. It takes willingness to be happy because you have to be willing to let go of your point of view and your opinions. Yes, they are yours and you feel heavily identified by them but I’m just giving you another way to think about it. You can have all of your stuff or you can have a peaceful existence. It’s your choice.

Today, find your center; find the place in you that is untouchable that no matter what is ok. Be still knowing that you can have peace always.

Today I am grateful for feeling so much joy in my life. I am grateful for the opportunity to share.