Reading
A monthly reading to ponder!
August 2022
Years ago, I went to see Eckhart Tolle at a hall in Vancouver. His message was about the fact that we are seldom able to stay in the moment and suffering arises when we live in the past or worry about the future. As it turned out, no one had shown up to unlock the hall for the event. This seemed to many people, myself included, a real problem! But slowly and serenely, Eckhart moved along the lineup of people, saying hello, shaking hands, giving hugs, as if this was all part of the agenda! He perfectly demonstrated his belief that, “A situation needs to be dealt with or accepted. Why make it into a problem?” How marvelous was that!
In his book, “The Power of Now” Eckhart states, “The more you are focused on time – past and future – the more you miss the Now, the most precious thing there is. Why is it the most precious thing? Because it is the only thing. It’s all there is. The eternal present is the space within which your whole life unfolds, the one factor that remains constant. Life is now. There was never a time when your life was not now, nor will there ever be.”
He discusses going into nature and just being with a tree, a flower, or a blade of grass. Notice that first moment, when you see its stillness, that is the power of the moment, that stillness, before you label it.
But I also suggest that if suddenly a Bengal tiger appeared in the middle of your living room, you would get into the moment real fast! I don’t think many of us would be able to think about anything from the past or worry about what will happen next week! And although, hopefully, most of us have never experienced being threatened by a wild animal, I’m sure many of us have been in a “fight or flight” situation that puts us automatically into the moment.
So, watch for your mind returning into the past or drifting towards the future. Go out into nature, focus on your breath, feel the energy of yourself and everything around you. Be fully present in this moment, fill it with your love and acceptance.