In the Present

A friend of mine is traveling in India right now and sent me an email the other day with an excerpt from one of his journal entries. Before he left, I looked forward to and was a bit afraid to see how he would change after his six-month journey through India, Nepal, Tibet and Southeast Asia. I was pleased to read his journal entry as he wrote about how this trip is helping him see the world and enjoy what it has to offer. Before he left, I joked around with him and said he was silly for having to go all the way to India on this “find myself” journey, but I was pleased to read that his focus has shifted from finding himself to trying to discover spiritual moments in everything around him. He wrote he didn’t have to sit down with the Dalai Lama in India or see prayer flags in Tibet to find a spiritual awakening. He could find it at home with friends, going to the farmer’s market or enjoying a cup of tea.

His email was a good reminder. Although our perceptions of spiritual moments may differ, I found it refreshing to imagine myself living in this way. I think I have lived or tried to live this way for quite some time, especially after letting go of the planner. But, it’s been a while since I really lived in the moment and focused on the joys of the present instead of being tied down by analyzing the past and uncertainties of the future. JJ always tells me, "live in the now, this moment. Just take it one day at a time."

So for today, I live in the present thankful for little moments of peace of mind. It’s one of those days when I find I have so much to be thankful for.