The gift of now

This moment – here and now - is the only one that matters.

You may have heard that phrase many times before, but this may be the right time to savor it.

There is no other moment than this moment. All past moments, days, months, and years are just memories. All future moments, days, months, and years are projections that may or may not be realized.

This moment is the only one that matters. It’s one to be grateful for, because it is the moment all your past moments worked toward. It is the only moment in which you are your current self. In the next moment, many changes will have happened to you, physically and psychologically. Cells died off and others were created, changing the substance that is you forever. Impressions and experiences further contribute to the change: The person who woke up this morning is long gone by the time you lay your head to rest at night.

You change all the time, and that is a gift in itself. Accepting this notion will also make you more susceptible to other changes, because you acknowledge that change is an ongoing process, internally and externally, and that you are the ultimate manifestation of it.

Because you change all the time, there is no need to feel regret for situations, ventures, or relationships that went wrong in the past, because these were history teachers:  They taught you lessons you would not have learned if they did not present themselves.

Similarly, there is no need to feel excessively proud of your past achievements, because they were accomplished by someone that no longer exists. While there are elements of that person in you at this moment, the configuration has changed, and much of that past achiever has expired.

Understanding the gift of “now” can be a liberating as well as a daunting one, because it brings along the realization of its fleeting nature. It has all the ingredients of the famous quote, “This, too, shall pass”. If you are not too happy at this moment, you can rejoice in the realization that it will soon pass. If you cherish your current circumstances, you may feel melancholic about pending changes.

Yet, nothing can take away the gift of now. Anything that may happen next is not now. So, breathe deeply and be grateful for receiving the gift of now. It will soon be gone.

The gift of focus

Life is a sequence of experiences, gentle and hard

This is a reality from which none of us is barred

But there are different ways

Of perceiving our living days

And to do so, we don’t have to be unusually smart.

We should always consider – before we raise our voices

That what we experience is the result of our own choices

We may not have known before

What our chosen path had in store

But reflection is always better than making twitchy noises.

Yet, even more important for us is the understanding

That we alienate others by complaining and demanding

If we grumble and gripe all the time

Our life’s value won’t be worth a dime

And worst of all: we’ll feel as if our misery is expanding!

For, while we cannot see in our future when we choose

We can decide to sing a happy life-tune or wail the blues

You see, our focus actually determines

The content of our personal sermons

It triggers the difference between sensing if we win or lose.

In our lives we have many things to be overjoyed about

But also things that can cause us to moan, cry, or shout

Some of us see our glass as half full

Others nag that it’s a half-empty pool

Forgetting that overcoming trials is what it’s all about.

So, if you wish, take this as a well-intended invitation

To reflect on your life and engage in contemplation

Is it really all terrible and bad?

Or are there things that make you glad?

If so, let’s gratefully celebrate our life’s jubilation!

joan marques

The gift of the present

As members of today's hectic society, we are always on the go. Our days consist of looking ahead to how, where, when, and with whom we can swing the best deal to secure the best future. In this materialistic treadmill, we may sometimes look at the past to gather some information and trends, or to remember some precious lessons. But the present is often forgotten...

An interesting word of its own -the present- it should be clear to us that this is the gift of gifts, granted by a providential, synergistic alliance of nature, existence, and countless cosmic collaborations. It's a moment that will never return, and that will be gone in the next instant. This fleeting moment is the only one in which we are sure that we are alive! There is no guarantee that we will see the next day, or even the next moment, let alone a distant future for which we make so many plans. And yesterday – well, that's yesterday: with all its gloom, glamor, and glory. There is no greater beauty than the here and now, in which we reside, communicate, connect, breathe, talk, laugh, love, and live...

If we can get ourselves to take a few minutes every day to really enjoy this fabulous gift that we so often neglect on our way to a fuzzy future, we could make our lives, and the lives of those around us, infinitely more beautiful...