Wisdom lies in engaging the life you have been given as fully and courageously as possible, and not letting go until you find the unknown blessing that is in everything, (Rachel Remen)
Perhaps this is the moment for which you have been created. (Esther 4:14)
In The Wisdom of No Escape, Pema Chodron tells the story of a woman running away from tigers. She runs and runs, and the tigers are getting closer and closer. When she comes to the edge of a cliff, she sees some vines there, so she climbs down and holds onto the vine. Looking down, she sees there are tigers below her as well. She then notices that a mouse is gnawing away at the vine to which she is clinging. She also sees a beautiful little bunch of strawberries close to her, growing out of a clump of grass. She looks up and she looks down. She looks at the mouse. Then she takes a strawberry, puts it in her mouth, and enjoys it thoroughly, the most exquisite strawberry she ever tasted.
For millions of people on our earth, trauma, loneliness, horror, suffering, and despair are a way of life. Tigers above. Tigers below. None of us, no matter how blessed with safety and security we may find ourselves, can remain untouched; all of us are faced daily with somehow dealing with reports we hear of trauma, suffering, and despair without being overwhelmed and despairing ourselves.
As Chodron reminds us in this wonderful story about tigers and strawberries, we could get depressed, negative, despairing, probably rendering ourselves physically or emotionally incapacitated, or at the very least, pretty unhappy. We could numb ourselves emotionally, and engage in some good old-fashioned denial. OR we could fully appreciate and delight in the preciousness of having been called to this single moment in our lives — perhaps this is the moment for which you have been created. A moment in which our compassion, our empathy, our awareness might make us truly capable of effectively being present in a way that is healing. A moment that might make a difference, if only to one person. Or animal. Or ecosystem.
The wisdom of the present moment . . .
The Navajo teach their children that every morning when the sun comes up, it’s a brand new sun. It’s born every morning, it lives for the duration of that day, and in the evening it passes on, never to return again. During the darkest period in my own life, acknowledging the preciousness of the present moment was one of the things that helped me walk through the despair. On my desk, I have framed a “Credo for the Rest of My Life,” (adapted from various sources whom I cannot credit, but for whose inspiration I am so very grateful), which even in this present moment reassures me. Perhaps it will speak to you as well.
The dawning of this day is filled with countless possibilities for amusing anecdotes, profound turning points, provocative choices, and pursuits of passion. Hold nothing back. Engage fully with what you are doing at this very moment. Focus only on the thing right in front of you. Live in the present, not the past or future.
Realize the specialness of being alive and having this particular moment. This is a time to enjoy the pleasures of being in the world and being yourself in it, knowing that your body and mind will not last forever. It can be a time for creativity, for play, for work that is play, for travel, for inner exploration, for whatever it is that calls to you.
I release the past, with gratitude for all that has been. I bless the present moment. I surrender to what will be in the future. I accept my Path.