Here and Only Now.
It’s a fragile thing, this life we live. Every day, we’re surrounded by the possibilities of triumph and tragedy, success and sadness.
Most of the time, we exist in denial of the precarious state of our world, our health, our relationships and our lives. We lie to ourselves, believing we have time enough to do what we want, to experience what we want, to live the life we’ve always wanted.
That’s the worst lie imaginable, and we tell it to ourselves all the time.
On Sunday, the world of sports lost a superstar and his daughter, but also 7 other people who all awoke that morning with no idea that they were experiencing their last sunrise, maybe their last cup of coffee.
Their lives were suddenly and tragically over, for some of them before they had really begun. There was no time to say the things that they needed to say, because suddenly time was taken from them.
There’s no guarantee of our next heartbeat, ever.
Last year, a wonderful patient of mine lost her battle with cancer. In her mid 70’s yet appearing much younger, she was a force to be reckoned with, until she wasn’t.
I have a friend who is experiencing what will probably be his last few months after a courageous and hard fought battle, and another friend who’s wife has a diagnosis that could give her 3 years, or twenty.
Sometimes it just breaks my heart.
And it reminds me that every morning, I need to be grateful for the good fortune of waking up that day, and that I should not just get through, but strive to take every opportunity to experience new things, and to tell the people in my life just how much they mean to me.
To try to find forgiveness and understanding in my heart for those for whom I struggle with unkind feelings, and to point my soul in a kinder, more harmonious direction.
Because when it comes down to it, seeking for peace and joy in life is all we really have.
We spend so much time worrying about things that don’t matter at all. We waste our time in comparison with the ‘pack’ on social media, rather than telling our loved ones what they mean to us. We extend more mercy to others than we do to ourselves, and in doing so we rob ourselves of the wonder and joy that is present in every breath, in every heartbeat.
Because happiness, and joy, come from within, and are independent of what is without.
When we can let go of all of our attachments to our fears and our needs, focusing instead on the wondrous majesty of all that is around us, we can find life and purpose in every breath.
If we can train our minds to see the good and find the positives in every situation, we can live a life that truly fills us with joy and purpose regardless of what goes on around us.
Only then, will we really know what it means to be alive.
So today, I ask you just to be here, and now. I know that you have worries, but worrying is like pulling pain from the future for something that may never come to pass.
I know that you have desires, but focusing on things of the future can obstruct your vision of all that is around you today.
Today, just be here, now, and breathe, finding wonder in that.
Just be here, now.
(If this post has helped you today, I would humbly ask that you consider sharing it, so that it can help others. Thank you.)
— Dr. Alan Barnes
@maddrbmusings