Dear friends,
Robert Frost summed up life in three words: “it goes on” Yes, it does, like a swiftly moving river, life is a continuum of itself. What happens in the river does not change it. There is nothing for us but to accept and move with it. That being said, we can make the river appear to slow itself if we are careful to be fully present in the moment. Be Here Now! Is the title of a famous book by Ram Dass. It was one of the first spiritual books I read back in the seventies. Lately I have been writing about paying attention to the small aspects of life that can help us feel the continuity without a sense of it flying away from us.
As ever, meditation is the number one practice to stop the mental clock. Other than that, there is ‘pause and reflect’ throughout the day. Simply stop whatever we are doing, breathe deeply and slowly. Notice what is around us as if it were all new. We can do this anywhere, even at a red light or in the office. Keeping things feeling new has a way of refreshing our perception. An appreciation of what is so now, keeps us from hurrying onto the next thing.
Dr. Larry Dossey wrote that most of our western illnesses are rightly called “hurry up sickness.” We fall into dis-ease when we are chasing life rather than experiencing it. It can only be truly felt in the moment. Another practice is to intentionally place ourselves in unfamiliar territory. That is as simple as driving to work on a different route; seeing a foreign language film; eating lunch at a restaurant with cuisine from another country; attending a concert of the kind of music we never liked. It is good to throw ourselves off balance enough to be very aware of our surroundings and how we are feeling.
There is a lot of talk these days about staying young. But young is always a mental state, not how many years we have lived. Young is eagerness, enthusiasm, curiosity, playfulness. Young is for those who are not dwelling in the past nor dreading the future. Young is now and now and now again and that is the real movement of the river.
Stay tuned in
Carol Carnes www.centerforspirituallivingbakersfiled.com
Check out www.caiforniafreepress.net varying views on life’s big issues.
