December 13, 2013
Our culture shows us images of our thoughts. Thoughts of good or of evil, prosperity or poverty, nobility or depravity. These are mental, but not merely fantasies or musings that have little bearing on our outward lives. When we are attentive to what these images mean beneath the surface, they reveal extraordinary possibilities.
I submit to you that what we call now -- physical evidence of a moment in space and time -- is not "living in the present." It is a static representation of a mental image. The real "here and now" is something you may find that you visit with surprising rarity. The true present is dynamic, a constant readiness for change, a perpetual activity of leaving behind and picking up anew.
I further submit to you that the real "now" is your capacity to press towards the future of the goodness and immortality that your mental images offer you. The ideals you perceive in thought are the real you. Your life work to live those ideals may seem to be always in the future, but it is, in fact, the true sense of living in the present.
Our culture shows us images of our thoughts. Thoughts of good or of evil, prosperity or poverty, nobility or depravity. These are mental, but not merely fantasies or musings that have little bearing on our outward lives. When we are attentive to what these images mean beneath the surface, they reveal extraordinary possibilities.
I submit to you that what we call now -- physical evidence of a moment in space and time -- is not "living in the present." It is a static representation of a mental image. The real "here and now" is something you may find that you visit with surprising rarity. The true present is dynamic, a constant readiness for change, a perpetual activity of leaving behind and picking up anew.
I further submit to you that the real "now" is your capacity to press towards the future of the goodness and immortality that your mental images offer you. The ideals you perceive in thought are the real you. Your life work to live those ideals may seem to be always in the future, but it is, in fact, the true sense of living in the present.
RSS Feed
