Be Here Now

There is little in life that is more stressful than thinking you need to be somewhere else, but feeling powerless to get there.

There’s this dream I used to have over and over again.  I’d want to get somewhere, but my body would be stiff and I wouldn’t move.  I’d want to move my legs, but they were frozen.  The inability to move would freak me out and I would want to scream.  I’d start screaming and screaming until I realized that the screaming was in my head—my mouth was immobile.

No matter how much energy I used, I was stuck, but I always kept wanting to move, sweating, and screaming, hoping something or someone would save me from the pain of my powerlessness.

That’s how I lived my life.  There was always something I visualized as the end-all-be-all in terms of happiness, and it was always something that evaded me—a relationship, moving out, traveling the world, and usually underneath it all, a feeling I desperately wanted.

It was always something just out of reach…

I’ve realized there will always be the possibility of a tomorrow that could be better than today.  There’s always going to be a there that sounds like a fantasy—someday when you’ve gotten what you want.

You could easily wrap your whole life around the promise of getting there and tie your emotions to the illusion of getting close.  You could stress out if you don’t think you’re making progress or feel frustrated that you haven’t seen enough results.  You could complain to people about feeling stuck and dwell on how much better things could be if only you could get there.

You could do all of that, if you want to choose unhappiness.  Because this moment, right now, is life.  And where we are is where we have an opportunity to be happy.

We can fight it and feel stressed or let go and feel peace.

That doesn’t mean we can’t strive for things we want.  It just means we’ve realized the path to a bright tomorrow starts with a choice to recognize and create light today.

Dig your heels in and take a deep breath.  You are here, and this is all that’s guaranteed.  What’s good about this moment, and how can you appreciate and enjoy it?