Beginning This Moment

Most of us fail to realize the tremendous potential that lies before us in each moment of our lives.  Every moment of every day, we face the opportunity to start over completely, to modify the way that we see the world, to change the ways that we react to certain stimuli.  Our lives are ours to fashion, and we do so through the ways that we approach our days and our circumstances, through the ways that we act and react, and through the ways that we treat others and ourselves.  One of the most important goals that we can have as people is to learn to recognize the things that cause us unhappiness, stress, anxiety, and negative feelings, and then to act in ways that will keep those things from being the dominant elements of our lives--or perhaps even to banish them from our lives altogether.

We spend a lot of time waiting for those "right moments," though.  I've known plenty of people who have been in destructive relationships who refused to leave them because the time just "wasn't right."  I've known people who hated their jobs and thus started each day feeling completely negative because they had to go work somewhere they didn't want to go, but who never found the right time for looking for something new.  I've known people who allowed others to dominate and control them, but who weren't able or willing to make the decision to leave behind the abuse and search out healthy relationships with people who were supportive and helpful to them.

This moment--right here, right now--is the only one of this particular moment that we're going to have in our lives.  The important question that we have to ask ourselves, then, is just what we're going to do with this moment.  How can we make it special?  How can we use this particular moment as a starting point from which to make the rest of our lives more positive and fulfilling?  Can we take this moment to make a decision that will add more special moments to our lives in the future?  This moment really does begin the rest of our lives, so what can we do with this moment that will provide a spark that will allow the flames of our true passions to burn brightly?

We seldom see moments of our lives as starting points, yet it's true that every single moment signals the beginning of the rest of our lives.  If we can see each moment as a beginning, then, how can we go about making sure that we start the rest of our lives on the right foot, in directions that will prove to be positive for us and for the other people who share our lives with us?

There is only the moment.  The now.  Only what you are experiencing at this second is real.
This does not mean you live for the moment.  It means you live in the moment.

Leo Buscaglia