The place you are right now God circled on a map for you"
Ibraham Hafiz
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The Present is Perfect
Do you ever find yourself looking at your life, or a current situation and
wondering "why me?" Do you ever find yourself being angry that life
has dumped on you, once again? Do you find that the same issue seems to arise in
your life over and over? We all do.
Life circumstances can be very difficult at times, and especially when you
experience grief, loss, failure, and unforeseen difficulty. In these times, it
is so important to remember you are "here" for a reason. It’s the
life lesson that is important – and if you can figure out what that lesson is
suppose to be, you have taken one more step on the yellow brick road of life.
Your journey is filled with grand moments called "now"…. These
"nows" make up your future and your life.
I find that I need to remind myself on a regular basis that, "the
present is perfect". I came across the above quote and smiled – and
thought, "yes, the present is perfect isn’t it?" It is even perfect
that I was reminded, at that particular moment, it was likely then I needed it
most. As I work through my day, I find that it is easy to get caught up thinking
about the future – what’s for dinner…I can’t wait for the weekend or
even next year…. how many more hours until this work is done….even
daydreaming too much can zap a great deal of time out of the "now".
I also find that you can ruminate about the past, thinking thoughts about
"what if" or "If I would have said this", or living in the
pain of a past event. Have you ever found yourself wishing about things that
could have been? Have you found yourself over analyzing every aspect of a
situation, even though you know there is no way to change the outcome – but
just wishing you could? How long do you let yourself be in this space? Remember
your time is valuable.
It’s easier to live in the past or in the future- because you don’t have
to do anything about it…. We don’t have to risk doing something different,
like we do in the present. In fact there is no action that can be taken in
either the past or the future is there? It’s an easy place to "hang
out". And that is where it effects our success – personally,
professionally, and financially.
Take a look at your life – think about what actual percentage of the time
you spend taking advantage of the present moment. How much is spent thinking
about the past? How much time is spent daydreaming about the future?
Don’t get me wrong – you do need to learn from your past, and plan for
your future – but make sure that you don’t get caught up spending the
majority of your time there…you need to spend your time focusing on the
present moment. Take actions that will change your future. Have a great
awareness of your mind, body, and spirit in the present moment. Learn from your
experiences. Ask yourself, ask God, or your Higher Power what it is you need to
learn in this moment, to move to the next level. Look for opportunity to grow.
Look for patterns in your life, in what works and what does not work. Let
yourself feel what "now" feels like – on a regular basis.
The goal is to be present in the "now" as much as possible. Come
from a place that accepts that you are exactly where you are supposed to be.
Accept that where you have been is where you were supposed to have been. It’s
hard to take in this concept, especially when there has been significant tragedy
in your life, but in these times it is even more necessary to look for what good
you can take out of the situation – what you have learned – how you have
grown as a person – what this could have taught others, and how it will impact
others lives, for the better.
Know that each moment in your life represents a spiritual lesson. Ask
yourself what you are learning from this moment. What are you learning about
yourself? What are you supposed to be learning, but are too afraid to face or
hear? Open yourself up to the law that the "present is perfect" – it
can change your life. God has indeed circled this place on the map for you. Look
at your situation as being placed in the highest honor. You have the ability to
take away many valuable gifts and riches.
Lori Hamann ©
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