We talk a lot about the present moment around here.

It’s good stuff. It alleviates suffering, brings joy and appreciation, and enables our lives to be lived fully for the benefit of all. But…

…there’s a big misconception about it, fostered by those positivity folks.

Just as it’s a, well, positive thing to be positive but a negative thing to push away negativity, so too the present moment is not about forgetting the past or ignoring the future.

To put it in concrete terms, “he who forgets the past remains forever a child.” And not in a good way. He who forgets to pay his bills, neglects the future, and will pay for it in a near-present moment.

This may all seem obvious, and it is. But too often folks think that pushing away tough feedback equals positivity, or learning into challenge and clinging to love means positivity. The converse is true.

And too often folks seem to think that the present moment is not pregnant with the future, and made up of the past.

Thus, the notion of karma. What we do matters. What we intend matters. And what we learn from our past, matters.

I’ve made mistakes. I’ve learned to breathe in tight times, and to forgive myself and others for our trespasses.

So enjoy this present moment, and all it has to offer: connection, insecurity, hunger, excitement, beauty, calm, tightness, shakiness, anticipation—I can feel all these things right here, right now. Feel your life.

Get to know its texture.

 

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