Just This Right Now

On a blustery day recently, there was a brief snow flurry. As I watched the flakes swirl around, I realized I felt like one of those snow flakes - in perpetual motion, not coming to rest anywhere, being blown here and there, bouncing and careening.

If you find yourself racing around a bit, checking things off of lists, getting from here to there, estimating the odds of completing what you’d like to get done… if you feel yourself leaning into the future almost so literally that your walking or sitting posture has you tilted forward … if each moment seems to exist simply in service of some other moment to come…. Then a brief reset may be in order.

Pausing, sitting, taking a deep breath in for a count of six, and then exhaling slowly, maybe even sighing out loud. Feeling the shoulders be pulled down by gravity as the breath moves in and out of the body in long, slow, nourishing breaths. Tilting the torso forward a few inches and moving back to what feels like “center”. Tilting backwards a few inches, and then moving back to what feels like “center”. Noticing the sounds around you, letting them come and go, just being present for them. And then allowing the words, “Just this right now. This is enough.” If the trickster mind realizes you’ve stopped in your tracks for a moment and comes back to get you, you can see it for what it is… a habit, a paper tiger, a puff of smoke, and you can smile as you rest down further into the present moment.

When you’re ready and it feels as though the energy has shifted, and the connection with the present moment has been established, open the eyes, take another deep breath, and move into your next present moment as it arises.

As Marcel Proust wrote, "Be aware, always and at every moment, that the miracle is in the here and now.”

A guided, audio version of this meditation and many other meditations are available 24/7 on our website as our gifts to you. If you find these emails or recordings helpful, please consider making a charitable gift to CMP by clicking here.

May all beings remember that the present moment is always here for us, welcoming us with open arms, asking nothing of us but our presence,
Your CMP Family