Living in the Present

One day at a time,

This is enough.

Do not look back and grieve over the past.

For it is gone. . .

And do not be troubled about the future.

For it has not yet come.

Live in the present, and make it so beautiful.

That it will be worth remembering.

The Field Of Life

Every moment has its special message.
Bowl of Saki, by Hazrat Inayat Khan

Every step in evolution makes life more valuable.
The more evolved you are, the more priceless is every moment; it becomes an opportunity for you to do good to others, to serve others, to give love to others, to be gentle to others, to give your sympathy to souls who are longing and hungering for it.
Life is miserable when a person is absorbed in himself; as soon as he forgets himself he is happy.
The more he thinks of himself, his own affairs, work and interests, the less he knows the meaning of life.
If we only understood that every moment in life, every day, every month, and every year, has its particular blessing; if we only knew life's opportunity! But the greatest opportunity that one can realize in life is to accomplish that purpose for which man was sent on earth.
And if he has lost that opportunity, then whatever he may have accomplished in the world, whether he has gathered wealth, possesses much property, or has made a great name for himself, he will not be satisfied.
Once man's eyes are opened and he begins to look at the world, he will find there is a greater opportunity than he had ever thought before.
Man is as poor as he is, as limited as he is, as troubled as he is; yet there is nothing in this world which could not be accomplished by man if he only knew what thought can do.
It is ignorance which keeps him from what he ought to accomplish. Man should know how to operate his thought, how to accomplish certain things, how to focus his mind on the object that should be accomplished.
If he does not know then he has not made use of his mind but has lived like a machine. If man knew the power of feeling, and realized that the power of feeling can reach anywhere and penetrate anything, he could achieve whatever he might wish. . . . Every man is a captive in some form or other; his life is limited in some form or other; but one could get above this limitation by realizing the latent power and inspiration of the soul.
Kabir, the great poet of India says, 'Life is a field and you are born to cultivate it. And if you know how to cultivate this field you can produce anything you like. All the need of your life can be produced in this field. All that your soul yearns after and all you need is to be got from the field, if you know how to cultivate it and how to reap the fruit.'
But if this opportunity is only studied in order to make the best of life by taking all that one can take and by being more comfortable, that is not satisfying.
We must enrich ourselves with thought, with that happiness which is spiritual happiness, with that peace which belongs to our soul, with that liberty, that freedom, for which our soul longs; and attain to that higher knowledge which breaks all the fetters of life and raises our consciousness to look at life from a different point of view.
Once a person has realized this opportunity he has fulfilled the purpose of Life.

Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan

Today

I realize that all I'm guaranteed in life is today.

The poorest person has no less and the wealthiest has no more -- each of us has but one day.

What we do with it is our own business; how we use it is up to us individually.

Experience, Strength and Hope,  p. 392

 

Every day is a gift. 
That is why we call it the present.

 

ODAAT = One Day At A Time.

 

~~~ @@ ~~~

I Don't Understand Why

I imagine that the present 

is as it should be.

It is perfectly unfolding even 

if I don't understand why.

Evelyn Rodriguez

 

My Time

There are many fine things
which you mean to do some day,
under what you think will be
more favorable circumstances.

But the only time that is yours
is the present.

Grenville Kleiser

ശിപ്വ്രെച്കെദ് ഇന്‍ സൌത്ത് കാരോളിന

Unmanageable

When I drink, my past becomes my future.

S I T = Stay In Today.

Safeguard The Present

If the past is unredeemable,

and the future unpredictable,

what more practical course is open

than to safeguard the present by

constant rememberance of the divine?
Paul Brunton

Notebooks

www.gratefulness.org

Living The Moment To The Fullest

Patience is a hard discipline.
It is not just waiting until something happens over which we have no control: the arrival of the bus, the end of the rain, the return of a friend, the resolution of a conflict.
Patience is not a waiting passivity until someone else does something.
Patience asks us to live the moment to the fullest, to be completely present to the moment, to taste the here and now, to be where we are.
When we are impatient we try to get away from where we are.
We behave as if the real thing will happen tomorrow, later and somewhere else.
Let's be patient and trust that the treasure we look for is hidden in the ground on which we stand.

-- Henri Nouwen

Today

I've shut the door on yesterday,

And thrown the key away.

Tomorrow holds no fears for me,

Since I have found today.

-- Vivian Yeiser Laramore

ODAAT

One day at a time,

This is enough.

Do not look back and grieve over the past.

For it is gone. . .

And do not be troubled about the future.

For it has not yet come.

Live in the present,

and make it so beautiful.

That it will be worth remembering.

A Simple Formula

It's a simple formula;
do your best and
somebody might like it.
--Dorothy Baker

My higher power will help me do whatever task lies before me.
And no task will be mine except those for which I am readied.
My job is simply to go forth, taking God as our partner, and set about completing the task.
I will not falter if I remember where my strength rests, where the guidance lies.

Self-esteem is one of the byproducts of a job done with God's help.
An additional byproduct is that I learn more quickly to rely on God's direction and strength the next time, thus reducing the time I give to fear.

I can be successful today, in every endeavor, if I let God manage my moves.

Mercifully look upon me, O Lord, and

govern all my thoughts,
and all my words,
and all my actions.

Take me where you want me to go;

let me meet whom you want me to meet;

tell me what you want me to say;

and keep me out of you way.

Thy will be done in me and
through me today and always.
Amen

Right Now

Our main business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance,
but to do what lies clearly at hand.
-- Thomas Carlyle

I can begin to see what lies clearly at hand -
not a dream or goal years away from now.
All I have is right now.
Tonight I can build my future foundations by working on me.

A Lovely Day

For me, a lovely day is any day I wake up.

Bernie S. Siegel

Prescriptions for Living

The Weight Of The Past -- Regret

Holding onto regret is like dragging the weight of the past with us everywhere we go.
It drains our energy, leaving less available for life in the present because we are constantly feeding an old issue.
This attachment can cause illness the same way watering a dead plant creates decay.
We know that something new and beautiful can grow in its place if we only prepare the soil and plant the right seeds.
We also know that we create our lives from our thoughts, so dwelling on the past may actually recreate a situation in our lives where we are forced to make the choice again and again.
We can choose to move on right now by applying what we have learned to the present and perhaps even sharing with others, transforming the energy into something that is constructive and creative for ourselves and others.

Forgiveness is the soothing balm that can heal regret.
In meditation, we can imagine discussing the issue with the self of our past and offering our forgiveness for the choice.
In return, we can ask for our selves’ forgiveness for keeping them locked in that space of judgment for so long.
We may also want to ask forgiveness from anyone else who may have been affected and perhaps offer our forgiveness.
By replaying the event in our minds, we can choose a new ending using all that we now know.
Imagine that you have actually gone back into the past and made this change, and then say goodbye to it.
Release your former self with a hug and bring the forgiveness and love back with you to the present.
Since we are usually our harshest critics, it is amazing how powerfully healing it can be to offer ourselves love.

Keeping our minds and our energy fully in the present allows us to fuel our physical and emotional healing and well-being today.
This action frees our energy to create the dreams we dream for the future.
By taking responsibility and action in the present, we can release our hold on the past.

-- DailyOM

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Patience

Patience is a particular requirement.

Without it, you can destroy in an hour

what it might take you weeks to repair.

--Charlie W. Shedd

Enjoying the moment, in its fullest, makes possible a peaceful and patient pace.
Progress is guaranteed if my mind is centered in the present, on the only event deserving of my attention.
I can be certain that error and frustration will haunt me if my attention are divided.

Patience slows me down long enough to notice another, and to be grateful for the gifts of the moment.
Patience promises me the power to move forward with purpose.

Today's fruits will be in proportion to my patience.

Why Not Now?

The time we are blessed with is limited and tends to be used up all too quickly.
How we utilize that time is consequently one of the most important decisions we make.
Yet it is far too easy to put off until tomorrow what we are dreaming of today.
The hectic pace of modern existence affords us an easy out; we shelve our aspirations so we can cope more effectively with the challenges of the present, ostensibly to have more time and leisure to realize our purpose in the future.
Or we tell ourselves that we will chase our dreams someday once we have accomplished other lesser goals.
In truth, it is our fear that keeps us from seeking fulfillment in the here and now-because we view failure as a possibility, our reasons for delaying our inevitable success seem sound and rational.
If we ask ourselves what we are really waiting for, however, we discover that there is no truly compelling reason why we should put off the pursuit of the dreams that sustain us.

When regarded as a question, "Why not now?" drains us of our power to realize our ambitions.
We are so concerned with the notion that we are somehow undeserving of happiness that we cannot see that there is much we can do in the present to begin courting it.
Yet when we look decisively at our existence and state, "Why not now, indeed!" we are empowered to begin changing our lives this very moment.
We procrastinate for many reasons, from a perceived lack of time to a legitimate lack of self-belief, but the truth of the matter is that there is no time like the present and no time but the present.
Whatever we aim to accomplish, we will achieve it more quickly and with a greater degree of efficiency when we seize the day and make the most of the resources we have at our disposal presently.

All the joy, passion, and contentment you can envision can be yours right now, rather than in some far-flung point in time.
You need only remind yourself that there is nothing standing between you and fulfillment.
If you decide that today is the day you will take your destiny into your hands, you will soon discover that you hold the keys of fate.

-- DailyOM

Love All, Serve All

Death can come at any minute, in any way.

We do not know what is in store tomorrow, or,

whether there is a tomorrow, or even a tonight!

But still, we have the golden present.

Now we are alive and kicking.

What should we do now?

Love all, serve all.

-- Swami Satchidananda

Now

At any moment the fully present mind

can shatter time and burst into Now.

-- David Steindl-Rast, A Listening Heart

Be Kind

So far as past errors are concerned,

forget them and start afresh,

as if it were your first day in this body;

but so far as your present contacts are concerned,

be kind to them,

as if it were your last day in this body.

--Paul Brunton

Be Present

Live in the present.
Do the things that need to be done.
Do all the good you can each day.
The future will unfold.
-- Peace Pilgrim