How many of us are conscious and fully ‘present’ in this moment? So
many of us try to be but it is often the case that we find ourselves in
the present moment by default as we are anchored to the past and locked
onto chasing the horizons of the future; we are in the present moment as
we are trapped between what went before and what may or may not lie
ahead.
Of course, to be in such a situation is part of being human, but
perhaps only because we expect it to be. We seek self-definition from
the past in order to shape our present, but our focus is not truly on
the present as we are constantly looking ahead to the horizons and
dreams that reside there. Confused? Well, that’s understandable!
It seems that we constantly tie ourselves up in knots trying to live
consciously and more authentically, but we believe that in order to do
this, we have to understand the past and the future in order to define
and shape the present. Of course this is true in some ways, but the more
we focus on what went before and on what may, or may not, lie ahead, we
forget the present and lose sight of the Truth of whom we are.
This living conundrum shapes our lives on so many levels for we want
to understand in order to evolve and grow, but the more we dig, the less
present we become. There comes a time when we have to step back from
digging in order to consciously awaken to the present moment. Whilst the
past has shaped our lives, we are more than our pasts. Equally, whilst
the future can bring our lives a sense of destiny and purpose, the
future, by its very definition, hasn’t happened yet and we run the risk
of diminishing ourselves in ‘what if’s’ and other conditioning states of
thinking and being if we focus too whole-heartedly on what lies ahead.
Although we know all of this, it somehow seems too difficult to
untangle ourselves from the inextricable tangle of past, present and
future. Yet, do we truly need to untangle ourselves or should we stop
struggling instead? The latter may feel defeatist, but spiritually and
energetically it feels deeply empowering and inspiring as it is a sign
of trust, faith and acceptance. Acceptance is not surrendering (although
it is an act of surrender to the Universal Whole), nor it is demeaning
or disempowering; it is the ultimate act of faith and an opening up of
mind, body and soul to the true magnificence of life.
It seems that the more we struggle, trying to understand and make
sense of life, the further away from truth and peace we become. It is
the struggle that is innately human but it is also the struggle that
keeps us away from the joy of living consciously. Such a conundrum is
hard to embrace, for our reality makes it so important to want to
understand, but when we stop trying to push and struggle for wisdom, we
realise that the wisdom we seek is already within us; it is us.
Sometimes we have to let go in order to find terra firma once again
but the act of letting go involves free falling into the unknown. What
lies beneath the clouds? We fear jagged rocks or other unthinkable
challenges, but intuitively we know that whatever life has in store for
us (and we can never be sure), the light within will always be there to
guide us and give us strength. We often forget about the light as life
has become too busy and too cluttered with things to do, places to go
and people to see, but when we pause for a moment, we re-connect and
realise that the light is our soul and the source of inspiration and
wisdom.
When we become conscious of the light, the need to dig deeply into
the past or the desire to chase the future diminishes as we are able to
relish the joy of where we are now. The past no longer anchors or chains
us, and the future no longer drags us forwards. Instead we become
vibrant, awake and alert, embracing life fully and unconditionally. Of
course, being human, means that there will always be times when we look
back or forward as that is our nature, but when we are centred and
aligned, such excursions can bring us wisdom and insight as they no
longer define our reality.
There are always lessons to be learned from the past and inspiration
to be tapped into by looking forward, but when we stop seeking these to
define us and instead define ourselves now, in this moment, everything
changes as the vibration shifts from being present by default, to being
present by choice and this distinction is so important now as it allows
our consciousness to expand and become One with the Universal Whole…
