As we continue to stand in-betwixt where we once were and where we want to be, there is a growing sense of awareness in connection to where we are now. Such an observation may sound obvious, but relatively few souls ever truly notice the present moment, focusing instead on the journey between ‘here and there’, looking back and looking forward but never really noticing the now.
Living with a linear perspective is something that shapes and defines both our lives and our world as it tends to keep us locked in the past/future mindset and away from true awareness of the present moment. Of course, it is only natural to look ahead towards goals and dreams, and to use the past as a reference point for decision making and for shaping the storylines of our lives, yet, such a path tends to keep us focused on the gap between where we are and where we want to be as opposed to raising our consciousness to the ‘bigger picture’, inspiring us to step beyond linear thought and towards conscious living and being. The gap becomes something to step over, to get from one side to the other rather than a place of learning, wisdom and growth. We ‘mind’ the gap (as in, we are bothered by it), but are rarely mindful of it.
It is part of being human to notice the gap between where we are and where we want to be as this inspires the motivation and determination to strive ahead, to discover, to innovate and to invent. Yet, when we become overly focused on this gap we become stuck in linear time and unable to re-connect to the infinite consciousness that shapes and defines the present moment. This may sound a little perplexing as the nature of infinite consciousness suggests a step beyond shaping and defining anything, but this is the point, as it is only by consciously embracing the present moment that we can make sense of the true nature of infinite consciousness; in other words, we cannot make sense of it until we consciously embrace it and become it.
Life has a habit of repeating patterns and cycles as we walk the treadmill and follow those storylines that play out over and over again. Although we think we have learned our lesson and moved on, we can still find ourselves back in familiar territory as the cycles repeat themselves and we find ourselves looking back for reference and looking forward for even more reference, understanding and wisdom. Yet, there comes a time when we need to realise that there will always be lessons to learn from the past and wisdom to discover and re-discover in the future but neither of these need to keep us away from the present moment.
There is a risk that we create a new cycle of distraction as we try to make sense of life and try to accomplish more in order to ‘get it right’ before we live the lives we know we were born to live. We set conditions: ‘when I lose weight, when I meet my soul mate, when I get that perfect job...’ and each one of these does not take us closer to living the life of our dreams but further away as it highlights the gap between where we are and where we think we need to be in order to be truly happy.
Happiness is a word that is hard to define as it means something very different to every single person. Some define happiness as ‘having it all’ and achieving material success. Many see happiness as having a plethora of external successes and achievements and yet it is only when we realise that no amount of external success can truly make us happy we begin to feel a sense of emptiness that all we once held dear actually doesn’t really matter all that much after all. Such a realisation can leave an after-taste of emptiness for a while as we strip back our souls to the bare bone, but we soon realise that from the emptiness true happiness has room to grow and flourish as we connect to the essence of happiness and embrace this feeling from deep within.
Present moment living, breathing and being is not for the faint-hearted as it means leaping into the gap (metaphorically, not literally) but not becoming defined or consumed by it. It also means stepping beyond linear time and embracing the concept of true happiness. Of course, in reality, there is no other way, but until we reach that point in time where we are prepared to wholeheartedly embrace this, we can find ourselves stepping over the cracks in the pavement, minding the gaps and watching out for potholes. In other words, our focus remains not on where we are but on where we were and where we think we need to be and until we realise that neither of these exist in the present moment we can never truly be liberated.
Of course, we will always remain mindful of the gap between here and there, as this is a part of being human, but the more consciously we step into the present moment, the more we can become One with the awe-inspiring universal consciousness. It is in the present moment where we step beyond the edge of the boundaries we perceive to be around us in life and fly free into the realms of joy...
