On Cultivating Acceptance of Life

by mnobleza

I’ve written numerous times on the power of the present moment. And even though I rationally and intellectually understand that time has no relevance save for this moment … and this moment … and this moment, why is it that I feel like I can never fully dwell in it? The simple answer: It’s the mind. The mind naturally jumps from one thought to the next, from past memories to hopes/aspirations/ to-dos and back again. And the more we try to be here, we discover that in the grasping for it, it alludes us yet again. The monkey mind has already swung to the next branch.

So the million-dollar question that always gets me back to “now” is: What exactly is in front of me right here, right now? What sensations is my body feeling? What emotions are surfacing for me? What thoughts or ideas are crossing my mind? All of these answers without actually following any one of them in my mind.

The truth is there really is no other thing than what literally is right in front of me at this very moment. And in those moments when I think to myself, “Well, I’m stressed and that’s happening right now,” I have to remind myself that the stress itself is in response to my wanting my life, at this moment right in front of me, to be not what it is.

Hence, being mindful in the present moment is about cultivating a profound acceptance of Life.

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