The concept of beginning and ending is time, produced by thought. Can we see, right now, that beginning and end, getting somewhere, being somebody, wanting to get the something I lack, are all products of the imagination. As long as this isn’t clear, this bodymind remains tied up in knots. Can we see that a thought is always away from this present moment, where time does not exist?
Toni Parker, The Wonder of Presence.
photo adam jwc
Some of the sentiments expressed around New Year – or the current fad of people posting pictures online – can lead us to think that looking to the future, or looking for happiness somewhere other than where we are, is good for our mental health. These beautiful few lines from Rumi – an extract from a longer inspiring poem – reminds us that it is in this moment, in what is right here, and not in our concepts, is where we need to keep our awareness.
Forget the future.
I’d worship someone who could do that.
On the way you may want to look back, or not.
But if you can say, There’s nothing ahead,
there will be nothing there.
Rumi,
from Coleman Barks, Rumi: The Book of Love: Poems of Ecstasy and Longing
photo kevin law
Our life in the world comes to us in the shape of time.
Consequently, our expectation is both a creative and constructive force.
If you expect to find nothing within yourself but the repressed, abandoned, and shameful elements of your past or a haunted hunger, all you will find is emptiness and desperation.
The way you look at things is the most powerful force in shaping your life.
In a vital sense, perception is reality.
John O’Donohue, AnamChara
photo of girl standing on the Calanque of Sormiou, near Marseille by benh lieu song
Stepping out of the busyness,
stopping our endless pursuit of getting somewhere else,
is perhaps the most beautiful offering we can make to our spirit.
Tara Brach, True Refuge: Finding Peace and Freedom in your own Awakened Heart
The greatest thing in the world is to know how to be one with oneself.
(La plus grande chose du monde, c’est de savoir être à soi)
Michel de Montaigne, Essais Book I, ch. 39
Remember that your ‘True Home’ is not found outside yourself, but it is right in your own heart. We do not need to bring home anything for us to feel fulfilled. We have everything we need, right in our heart. We do not need to practice for many years or to travel far to arrive at our true home. If we know how to generate the energy of mindfulness and concentration, then with each breath, with each step, we arrive at our true home. Our true home is not a place far removed from us in space and time. It is not something that we can buy. Our true home is present right in the here and now; if only we know how to return and to be truly present to it.
Thich Nhat Hanh, Home is the Way – A Christmas Message
photo randi hausken
