Being Present

We look up to see the sun. It is reflecting down on us as we begin our walk down the path. We feel refreshed in a way that we have never felt before. Finally we are taking our path. Many people in our lives told us not to, but what do we care? We are not doing this for them. We are doing this to find ourselves. No one else seems to have the answer as to why we were born or what our destiny truly is. So here is where the path begins: down a dusty, abandoned trail. We notice the trees and the branches that seem to be swaying from side to side. We begin to have one repeating thought: this doesn't seem so bad. It appears to be a breeze compared to what we believed would happen.

We thought we might be facing a task from the very beginning. Maybe we would be mugged. Maybe we would have forgotten something. Maybe we would have felt regret. Yet none of our worries have come true. We are surprisingly enjoying the beginning adventure. We are taking a look around and witnessing all of the small things we missed while living a life of busyness. The stress of knowing that there is a report that is due on Monday is no longer hanging over our head. Right now the only thought is to survive. Yet even that thought seems to be harmless. What is there to survive if no danger makes itself present? We continue to walk and begin to imagine all of the dreams we are able to make possible by the time we reach the end. All we have to do is stay on our path. We cannot become distracted.

We cannot be tempted to exert more energy than necessary. Yes, it might seem nice to go for a slight jog while traveling down this path. But our heart is repeating to us a simple phrase: do not rush this. We cannot afford to skimp on to the next section down the road. We do not have the option of becoming bored. Now is the time to gain focus. We must remind ourselves why we have chosen this path. It wasn't to be different. It wasn't to take time away from daily responsibilities. This is a mission. And like all missions, we must remember the goal: finding out who we are and what our purpose is in this life. That takes time.

This doesn't, however, mean that we cannot enjoy it. We have to take the time to behold what lies now in the present. We must focus on what we are seeing and not what might come down the road. We must look from side to side and take note of our senses. We can feel the cool breeze over our skin. We can smell the dustiness of chalked-up gravel beneath our feet. We must hear all the sounds: from a bird flying by to the scuffle of a squirrel hurrying up the tree. We know that right now the most important thing is to be in the present. We have already dealt with the confusion that comes with thinking ten steps ahead and taking thirty steps back.

Before the path we used to constantly think about what we would have to do the next day once we were off work. I have to go to the gym. I have to pick up groceries. I have to send in the necessary forms so I do not get fired. The stress of it all leaves us frenzied, completing task after meaningless task. What becomes urgent is no longer important. We are busy because we don't know what else to be. And when we do find the free time to sit down and relax, we start to fill our minds with new thoughts-or so we think. We feel that our mind should always be put to use-until we fall asleep-so we begin to think on all of the choices we made in the past. Yet they are not productive thoughts. They are, in fact, regrets.

I should've asked Suzie to prom. I should have known better than to drive that night. I should've told [insert relatives, friends, spouse] how much I loved them before I lost them forever. Regret after regret starts to pile up. We start to realize something: we feel no different relaxing than we do when we are completing our tasks. We are constantly doing or thinking and never relaxing or meditating. We are constantly in motion and know no way to stop. When will we stop? That question repeats over everything else. When will the time come where we can take a deep breath and exhale in relief? There is too much to do. We know all of the practices and stratagems to relax. But we cannot fall asleep now. We have to stay alert! And so the cycle continues. But on the path we are free from the many distractions of life.

We are on our own path. So while we travel we must continue to be in the present. We must know that this chance is not by accident, it is practiced. It is learned and honed as a skill. Our heart tells us to take notes, for it knows that this will serve us in the future. We must take hold of our five senses: hearing, touch, sight, smell, and taste. Perhaps we will happen across a field of berries-or any other food source-and take hold of the taste. We might hear the peaceful sounds of nature and let it envelop our soul. We might see how the wind bends the branch on a tree. We may smell the purity of wildlife as we take in our surroundings. We must remember to always remain in the present.

Time Knows

Time knows the abounding obstacles
We all must face.
It disgraces none and discerns the sum

Of a healthy spirit.
We feel its presence with an essence of hope.
Yet how are we to cope with the unknown?

As we have grown to own up to our past actions,
We seek yet a new satisfaction;
One that is not to take the place

Of our reaction to a lesser fate.
We debate and relegate our duties
In a soothing manner.

"Time will wait,"
We say in digression.
But time knows no such selection.

It makes a collection of all
That have reflected on what it stands to show;
We hear it grow beneath our feet.

We retreat when it races and face it,
Only when we have no other option.
But time is our friend.

It looks to mend the broken heart
And wishes to help us stand apart
From the wicked temptations of true procrastination.

Time is a guide.
It wants to provide an equal divide
Between the present you and the old fool

Who knows not what he wants.
Time is blunt.
It pulls no punches when there is a hunch

Of a resource that can force us into action.

Time reveals to us the satisfaction
That we desire to see.

It can only plea with those
Who achieve inner peace.
Time repulses a disorganized thief.

It dares not show the fatal blow
That it soon will deliver;
Risking no riddles and playing the little part

Of a larger role.
Time sets its own goals.
Who are we to know of its arrangements?

It proves to be bold in doing what it is told,
But only when what it is told comes to light.
Time helps us fight.

It knows every battle
That could rattle our minds.
It finds no relation to the benevolent regulations

Of our hour.
Time will devour our enemies.
It sees through the thickness

Of any elicit salutation;
It proves that all creation has meaning.
Time is never deceiving.

Only those who choose to go their own way
Do miss the day when it can alleviate our pain.
Time knows our name.

We may see fame,
Or we may not,
But time has bought an equal share

In the investment of you.
Time holds all things to be true.
It has never been...