Presence

Good Morning,

You may have noticed a trend in my recent writings here at The Daily
Buddha, one of immediacy or the fact that the present (the here and
now) is the most important time of our lives. This is due to the fact
that I can not stress the importance of understanding that the
present is all we really have. Think about how much of your life and
your thoughts are spent entertaining what "will be" one day. How many
of us really live as though today were it? How many of us can really
grasp the importance of living such a life?

We convince ourselves that life will be better after we get married,
have a baby, become grandparents an so on. Then we are frustrated
that the kids aren't old enough and we'll be more content when they
are. After that we're frustrated that we have teenagers to deal with.
We will certainly be happy when they are out of that stage. We tell
ourselves that our life will be complete when our spouse gets his or
her act together, when we get a nicer car, are able to go on a nice
vacation, when we retire. How much of your life has already been
SPENT thinking this way?

The truth is, there's no other time to be happy than right now.

Your life will always be filled with challenges. It's best to admit
this to yourself and decide to be happy anyway. One of my favorite
quotes comes from Alfred D Souza. He said, "For a long time it had
seemed to me that life was about to begin - real life. But there was
always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through
first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to
be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these
obstacles were my life."

This perspective has helped me to see that there is no way to
happiness. Happiness is the way.

Stop waiting until you finish school, until you go back to school,
until you lose ten pounds, until you gain ten pounds, until you have
kids, until your kids leave the house, until you start work, until
you retire, until you get married, until you get divorced, until
Friday night, until Sunday morning, until you get a new car or home,
until your car or home is paid off, until spring, until summer, until
fall, until winter, until you are off welfare, until the first or
fifteenth, until your song comes on, until you've had a drink, until
you've sobered up, until you die, or until you are born again to
decide that spent waiting is a life spent and not a life lived.

There is only one time to be happy, to be fulfilled, to simply be and
that is this very moment.

Have a beautiful day and remember; The most precious gift we can give
or receive is our presence. When mindfulness embraces life, we bloom
like flowers.

Peace and Love, Jim