the power of presence.

the past is over. we can learn from it, but we cannot return. when we try to return, it may look similar and share some similar qualities, but it is actually something new with only shadowy remnants of what was once life.

the future is yet to be. the future is an illusion. we never really arrive. for what is the future, other than a present we have yet to live? and even then, our thoughts of the future are illusions colored by our own desire, not reflecting all the variables and diversity of life. if we attempt to live in the future now, we are cheating ourselves out of life where it actually is – here in this moment. here and now as it is often said. in short, we aren’t really living.

so it is in this moment, in this place where we rest and offer our presence. it is in this moment, in this place where we can make choices that heal the past and plant beneficial seeds for the future.

what better way is there to live in gratitude for the life we have been given, than to offer our presence back to life? we cannot go back and offer a past that has happened. we cannot jump ahead and offer a future that has yet to be. we can, however, offer this moment which contains both our past and our future.

to be here, is to be present. in all of its joys and bliss, in all of its pains and suffering. only in the present can we act to bring transformation of these things, to bring healing, to bring renewal.

our power is in our presence, which is only available here in this place, in this moment.

to be here, is life.

may it be offered with generosity, with insight, warmth, and wisdom.

~j

#TheLongArc #PlantingSeeds #presence #life #EngagedBuddhist #Zen #enso #JMWart #JinpaLhaga