mindful monday : be here, right about now.
“Life can be found only in the present moment. The past is gone, the future is not yet here, and if we do not go back to ourselves in the present moment, we cannot be in touch with life.” -Thich Nhat Hanh
I saw a bumper sticker like this one last Thursday, after an extraordinary session with my acupuncturist. I walked out, and a car sat in the parking lot with this on the back.
It made me smile.
Perfect, yes.
For those two hours I had been inside her office, quietly beneath a warmed sheet, I was here, now. Nowhere else. The car's bumper sticker an exclamation point on that experience, a reinforcement, a "don't forget now that you are reentering the world of work."
What keeps us from the present, this very moment, that slice of red pepper in front of us a universe in itself, each bite sweeter than the last?
Calendars? Blackberrys? iPhones? Strategic plans? Some parents can't enjoy kindergarten for thinking of college applications twelve years hence.
Stop.
Turn off your computer monitor when someone walks in your office.
Close your datebook and go for a walk in fall leaves.
Do for the sake of doing, not for what it will get you. Paint for the sake of painting, write for the sake of writing, do to do.
Get outside more. Even in the rain.
Just listen to yourself breathe.
Be. Here. Right about now.
[image from here]
