Perhaps the hardest thing for any of us to do is to live in this moment that is happening now, with little thought of what was or anticipation of what may in the future come.
Certainly we all have wants and needs that are not being met. So the issue of find peace and joy, at its most basic, revolves around answering two simple questions:
Where are peace and joy now? How can I find them in this moment?
After all, something about now must be lacking (in it or in our perception or experience of it) so greatly that we look beyond it to what we want to happen down the road.
In short, the pasture of our present isn’t as green as that of our future, so that’s where our attention goes.
So riddle me this.
What wrong with NOW?
It really is about desire. What do we want now that we don’t have? Why do we want it? How is that desire intended to serve us? What is the process by which we intend to fulfill it? How are we experiencing this moment (obviously, it’s less than we want it to be)? Why?
Usually desire arises through contrast, where a current situation or experience is less than pleasant, so we want something else so we’ll feel better about it, ourselves, or whatever it is that is motivating us.
Nevertheless, our preoccupation with the future tells us more about ourselves than it does about this moment.
Because something in us is not at ease with our status quo, we think we must create something different, essentially divorcing ourselves from that reality in order to focus on that which we think is missing (the object of our desire for future manifestation).
Yet an important principle of inner development is knowing yourself and why you and your life are the way they are. Because that’s why they’re happening — FOR YOU.
And if we don’t, they’ll keep coming back around in karmic waves, giving us another chance to meet their energies in a different way.
So my advice is try to get the most out of them now so you don’t have to recreate them again to find what you think is now missing.
In any event, I just wanted to turn your attention from that possible future to look at yourself and how you are experiencing your life right now. That’s all there really is, anyway.
There is only Now.
It’s what we work with and through to build a life that serves you. It starts with getting the most from the one you’ve got — even all the horrible things that crop up along the way.
Slow down. Look at yourself and your life as they are right now.
They’re exactly as you intended them to be.
But why?
Welcome to the journey to know yourself.
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John shares insight and illumination to travel the spiritual path through a material world, and how to use its principles to deal with difficulties, overcome obstacles and build a better tomorrow.
Through public speaking and a variety of books, blogs, podcasts, videos and websites, he holds out a path through the darkness to build lives that serve us, and the world.
His book, "Whispers in the Silence -- Living by the Light of Your Soul," is a guide to hearing your inner voice and cultivating the ego.
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