Inner Work

For the week of January 1, 2007

This Is It

Though we well know the truisms that the present is all there is and that we should “be here now,” we nevertheless live “This is it?” or “Now is not enough.” The present moment nearly vanishes under the weight of our hopes, fears, dreams and plans for the future, our regrets, resentments, anger and sadness for the past, and our aversion, distaste, procrastination and boredom with the present. By all these we justify our heedlessness for this moment, our view that the real action lies elsewhere, that what we want is not available right now, and our tendency to drift in a haze of haphazard thoughts. We ignore and sweep aside our better nature that prompts us toward presence. And thus, through inaction, we impoverish our life.

The cure is both sudden and long-term. Suddenly we find the timeless, not in the past or future, but in the heart of the present. We let go our non-acceptance of this moment and live. We breathe the fresh air of this one eternal now and realize that our joy lives here.

But we tend to relapse. So we undertake a course of spiritual practice, a disciplined path that does not require self-imposed forcing but rather draws and attracts us into the natural wonder of simple presence and into the comfort, warmth, and connection of prayer. We take care not to allow the long-term commitment to spiritual practice to detract from living in the now, which after all is where every instance of spirituality occurs.

Expanding our time scale, we see that what we do today and this week is our life. Despite our hopes, fears, plans, and dissatisfactions, this life that we lead now is our life, our only life. Yes, we work for a better future, but all the while we only live today.

How? Our practice serves both the present and the future. Meditation, prayer, presence, and kindness — these bring us to a deeper appreciation for this moment, while also serving and shaping our future. If we take time to meditate in the morning, our experience and response to the rest of the day is markedly different than if we had not meditated. Over the weeks, months and years, that effect builds, gradually transforming the very marrow of who we are. New and unexpected sources of joy, contentment, satisfaction and meaning open to us. But these are also now, not just in some hoped-for future at the end of a long path of practice. Unmitigated acceptance of our self and our life ushers us into the heart of the present, into the heart of presence.

For this week, remember that “This Is It.”[1] Whether we consider the moment, the day, or the week, this is our life, our only time. Out of self-respect, we savor and honor this, our one and only, present moment.

[1] Title of a classic book on Zen by Alan Watts

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