Now

Begin doing what you want to do now.  We are not living
in eternity.  We have only this moment, sparkling like a
star in our hand. . . and melting like a snowflake.
Let us use it before it is too late.   -Marie Beynon Ray


I've been reading about living in the present moment for decades, and I'm still not sure that I know how to do so.  I think I do, but of course, there's no real test available to find out if I am or not.  After all, I may be enjoying the sunshine on a beautiful fall day, but if I'm worrying about something that may happen tomorrow, am I not fully grounded in the present?  Am I trapped in a future?

And if I'm on a run in the forest, but thinking about a problem that I had yesterday, am I being held prisoner by the past, or am I using the present moment to process thoughts and reactions that I had yesterday?  Sometimes, for me, thinking deeply about things helps me to work my way through issues, and perhaps I may not be seeing the trees that surround me, but I am dealing with stress and unease that threatens to overwhelm me.  Sometimes, this moment is meant to serve as a way to process the past.  Sometimes, this moment is meant as a way to prepare ourselves for the future.  Both are fine uses of the present moment, as long as we don't fall into the trap of allowing ALL of our present moments to be focused on the past or the future.

Because right now, I have the chance to compliment someone, to smile at someone, to experience the sunshine or the rain, to be fully aware of all that surrounds me.  It's an important part of life to be able and willing to be present in this moment, to appreciate the opportunities we have right here and right now--and even to take advantage of some of those opportunities from time to time.  It's actually being with the people who are near us, not on the phone with someone who's elsewhere, dealing with problems and issues that are elsewhere.

This moment is precious.  Who's around you right now?  What don't you know about that person or those people that you'd like to know?  Is there something beautiful to look at, even if you've seen it many times already?  What are your current opportunities to learn something new about something?  Let's not let this moment melt into nothingness without getting something from it--and giving something to it.

Our creativity

Creativity is simply the energy of
making something where there was
nothing before.  We do this every day,
in so many unmarked ways.
-Fran Sorin


"He's so creative," I often hear.  Unfortunately, I often hear those words followed by something like, "I could never do anything like that!"  And it's often young people who are making this claim, who are saying that they've already given up on creativity, that they feel that they aren't at all creative themselves, that creativity is somehow reserved for "special" people who have some sort of gift.

They're wrong, though.  They are creative.  They may not be painting landscapes that are hung in galleries, and they may not be making music that's played all over the world, but they have creative gifts that they can share with the world on many different levels, if they would only look and see what they're doing and how they're doing it.

I'm creative when I bake or cook dinner, when I play Scrabble with a friend, when I compliment someone, when I come up with a way to fix something, when I help a kid with a project, when I plan a menu for a dinner with friends.  I can even be creative in the ways that I show kindness and compassion to others, in the way that I write a letter or an email to a friend.  Simply smiling at someone and wishing them well can create a good feeling in that other person, a feeling that wasn't there before, and that's definitely a creative contribution to the world in a positive way.

Not all creativity is meant to be shared with others on a wide scale.  Much of our creativity is what we use to contribute to our world in small but important ways, and we're all creative.  Not all of the time, of course, but much more often than we give ourselves credit for.

Strength in humility

Humble people can do great things with uncommon perfection
because they are no longer concerned about their own interests
and their own reputation, and therefore they no longer need
to waste their efforts in defending them.    -Thomas Merton


Humility is a hard lesson to learn in life.  Most difficult, I believe, is learning about the power in humility to shape our lives, for most of us don't witness the humble person as being powerful, and we don't witness the same results for them that we witness in those people who have rejected humility.  The arrogant blowhard's outcomes are very easy to see; the humble person's achievements are cloaked in the humility that gives them the wonderful strength that they have, so they aren't all that visible, except to the most attentive.

The humble person, of course, doesn't ask for recognition.  If recognition comes, then this person doesn't bask in it, doesn't ask for more of it.  This person recognizes that life works through her or him, and that whatever she or he has accomplished has been a blessing.

That doesn't mean that we can't feel pride in our accomplishments--of course we can.  But when we're so prideful that we demand that others recognize our achievements as something special, then we definitely cannot count ourselves among the ranks of the humble.

I hope to be able to be humble, partly because it's a peaceful way of life, and partly because it's a much more powerful way to live life than being proud offers us.  The power in the humble person is true and steady, and not reliant on outside forces such as recognition.  The power of the humble person is a power that is used to help others, and it's a very effective power, indeed.