From Don: The day will unfold as it does: let it be. I’m still not quite back into a rhythm of life where I feel in the flow and allow stuff to arise in its own good time. I don’t feel like I’m pushing any rivers, but here I am with most of my days free to do whatever arises in me to do and I’m still feeling rushed. In my daily practice of writing three pages longhand every morning, called Morning Pages, I’m feeling rushed to complete it, then exercise, then have breakfast, and then, and then, and so on, instead of being at one with writing, then at peace while exercising, then in calm stillness when preparing and eating breakfast.
I can do that. In this moment, nothing else on my mind except writing. One thing at a time. Now this. Now this. Complete focus and attention on what is right in front of me to do. That alone engenders a feeling of calm focus. No more monkey mind leaping from one thing to another, never still, never satisfied with this moment, with this irreplaceable moment. Now this. Now this. No movement. I will remain here doing this until it’s done, and then I will do the next thing with complete focus. To go through one day in this way would be, will be, transformative. One thing at a time, no complaints, no thinking about anything else, no jumping up to do something else.
Just this, now, just this, now, just this, now . . . and so on through the day. Slowing down until I’m not moving anywhere . . . just here, just now, just this. Then the feeling of rushing recedes and stillness arises. Such a blessing to feel full acceptance of the moment: no struggle, no fighting to be somewhere, anywhere else than right here, right now. There’s a sense of centeredness that is felt physically in the middle of my chest: home at last.
Photos of the day:
Above – fallen frangipani, Koko Crater Botanical Garden, Oahu, Hawaii.
Below – from the train window, early morning, somewhere between Izmir and Konya, Turkey.
All words and images by Alison Louise Armstrong unless otherwise noted
© Alison Louise Armstrong and Adventures in Wonderland – a pilgrimage of the heart, 2010-2015.
Yeah, I hear you. I keep rushing to slow down, then get behinder and behinder. But then, I actually have deadlines on things. I have actually felt peace in the moment once, in India, in meditation. My mind stopped, the world stopped. What’s that saying: stop the world, I want to get off. Yeah, me too. This is a lovely piece of writing, Don. Palpable, real.
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Thanks for the feedback BF. I too once had a moment in meditation where the world stopped, and I knew in that moment that everything was always just as it was meant to be: no complaints, no desiring, only the timeless perfection of being.
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Right. And you know, this makes me wonder why many people hold so dearly to all the other stuff in life. Or, for that matter, to life itself. I’m thinking life in the body has a purpose, and if it moves toward beauty, perfection, peace, love…then fine. But if it leads to all that other stuff, then…?
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A very deep question BF. All I can say is that I have no idea what the Bigger Picture is, why there is both apparent good and apparent evil in the world. The world has always been going to hell in a handcart, and there have always been megalomaniacs who think they have all the answers as long as the rest of us do what they tell us to do, and their followers who do just that. All I have is my own very limited direct experience of The Mystery to draw upon, which encourages me to believe that all is well, regardless of external appearances. I guess I’m just a cockeyed optimist at heart. Be well my friend. Don
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freakin optimist…I guess…if you’re encouraged to believe all is well!!! Unless…you’re enlightened!! But you know, I have to agree with you. Who knows what is what with all this. But it has to be what is supposed to be, right. Or, we’re both a little off center. Or, we’re both enlightened. But you know what they usually do with enlightened people, like da Vinci.
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Shhhh!
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Hmm, wish I could achieve this. Felt a nice calm while reading your words though!
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I have to say that I didn’t achieve anything: the words and the feelings just arose in me unbidden. What a blessing. I’m happy that they resonated for you.
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So much easier to be mindful when sitting on a pillow practicing mindfulness than to remember to do it during your to-do list isn’t it? 🙂
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Oh yes. To-do lists definitely interfere with to-be listenings.
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This piece is absolutely true!
We need to plan ahead but live in the present. We need to make sure we hold the reins of our chariots tightly so that we don’t falter anywhere.
Wonderfully written!
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Oh Sandhya, you’re so right, we do indeed need to plan ahead, but I find that it’s easier to stay in the present moment if I hold the reins of my chariot very loosely. Namaste, Don
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Yes, that is something I’ve come to learn over the past few months. We shouldn’t be too rigid with ourselves. Rather, being gentle with ourselves will reap wonders! 🙂
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I know how you feel Don. This may make you smile. I am in Wales at a hotel having just woke up grumpy because my husband was deliberately making noise because I overslept and we need to be downstairs soon for breakfast. So I say I need a few minutes to de – grump and the first thing I do is go on to wordpress and this post is at the top of my reading list and I think,’Yay! One of my favourite blogs! ‘ so on the cosmic scheme of things your post has served many purpose one of which is to help wake me and get me started on my day without rushing. You have made me smile. Namaste.
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Your story made me smile: good for you for having the awareness that you needed to de-grump before starting into the busyness of your day. That has been one of the many blessings of increased self-awareness for me: that I can choose to be grumpy, and suffer, or not.
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Yes. I constantly need this reminder. I focus, then rush, then try to multitask, followed by epic fail, then focus…thank you. Breathe.
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Your lovely words reminded me of some lines from Leonard Cohen’s Song of Bernadette:
‘We’ve been around, we fall, we fly
We mostly fall, we mostly run
And every now and then we try
To mend the damage that we’ve done’
Thank you, thank us, for the epic fails and for the beautiful moments when we remember to stop and breathe. Don
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To appreciate and live the moment can be difficult for me sometimes, since I do often feel a sense of urgency and a fear of missing out on something, but when I slow down and savour the moment I do get a much deeper conection and satisfaction with myself and the world around me. Thank you for reminding me to just be.
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Yes, me too: rushing around to make sure I don’t miss out, and then stopping and through grace being reminded of what really matters.
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I, too, know this feeling well, Don. When I feel it I know there is an ever deeper dissatisfaction that is simmering within me. No matter what I do, it keeps poking up through the soil I sprinkled down to create the illusion of a soft and unbroken consciousness. For me of late, it is kind of the opposite. Finding peace with continuously changing demands outside of my control. There are many people working through a complex challenge involving thousands of variables, and every few minutes the “engine of the planned” backfires and the unplanned changes everything! Peace in such times comes from knowing with the help of the person next to you, a way forward will present itself…
It also makes the moments of downtime all the more special. I have today to relax and I looked out the window just as a bird was changing directions in the sky, and that one moment opened into the most beautiful feeling. But I wouldn’t have been primed to experience the beauty and meaning of such a simple movement– of a creation with birds that fill the sky– if I had not been so whirly-birding all week myself. The contrast sometimes, is illuminating…!
Not that we require contrast to experience this. We can whenever we momentarily forget our various acts of “trying”, and the moment is pure and free– as when you fell into the center of your chest inexplicably, and were home at last…
Peace
Michael
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Thank you Michael for your always thoughtful comments. I particularly loved your line about the ‘engine of the planned’ backfiring. Reminds me of that old saying “If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.” As always, many blessings to you my heart brother.
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The closest I’ve come to feeling what you’re looking for is the moment the plane lifts off the tarmac. There’s nothing to worry about, and nothing to do, except that which you bring with you. And somehow, it seems impossible to worry as you’re watching the beautiful world slip away. I find travel days to be some of the most mentally relaxing days, because I sort of go into a day-dream-like state, where I eat, nap, and immerse myself in the world of whatever book I’m reading. Not quite the experience you’re seeking, but it’s a start!
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Me too: I’m the same at the start of flights and long train journeys: all the planning has been done so there nothing to do and nowhere else to be. Time to relax and watch the world go by.
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I am with you, Don. This is my struggle every day. I try to remember to remind myself that if this is what I am struggling with, that all by itself is a very fortunate thing! Here’s to happy struggles.
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Yes, I find myself counting my blessings every day now for the life I have: I am grateful for the gifts I have received this day. A warm place to stay, a comfortable bed, a loving partner, food on the table. We are so blessed compared with many in the world.
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It’s nice to keep it all so simple and so true. I’m feeling very glad for you two.
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wonderful movement
into stillness & ease 🙂
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there really is
no place like home
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Wonderful, Don! I like the mantra you’ve created via inspiration, “just here, just now, just this.”
I’ll borrow it as an occasional alternative for me to my two similar mantras, both from inspired writer/philosophers. I use the first one often daily as a reminder to pull back into the moment. The second has been my official philosophy of life for decades — you probably already know that about me. 😉
……….
Be.
Here.
Now.
[A Ram Dass book title that I made into 3 sentences so that I pause and meditate on each word separately as well as create the overall intent.]
……….
Human Being, not Human Doing.
[Rumi]
……….
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Just so.
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Hi Don,
The same day I read your post I happened upon a video satsang with Isaac Shapiro with the title “Living Every Moment as the Most Beloved.”
There you have it! 🙂
Best to you and Alison.
Tanya
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Hi Tanya,
Nice to hear from you, and thank you for letting me know about the Isaac Shapiro satsang video. I love the title.
Regards to you and Lee.
Don
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Beautiful 😍
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Thank you.
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Being in the here and now is an ideal, but like many ideals it may be unreachable for most of us. I have accepted that true mindfulness may not happen often with me, and I’m OK with that! How wonderful when I do succeed but I pardon myself when I fail at it. I hope your reminders to yourself about this do not rise to become admonishments or pressures about it; just seeking it is enough (I think!).
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I’m with you: mindfulness arises through grace, not through any efforting on my part. It has arisen only rarely and for brief moments, just long enough to remind me of the true nature of being.
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I´m still working on this!
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Me too!
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If I embraced “just here, just now, just this” at work, I would probably start running up and down the hallways, past Dilbert cubicles, screaming. (Remember those days? Enjoy the visual. ) My current mantra is “soon” (as in, retirement). One of my retirement preps is reading your blog. Soon.
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Congratulations: you just won our Laugh Of The Day Award for Monday!
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The honor is all mine. Cheers.
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sending joy! Always so beautiful 😀
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Thank you. Thank you.
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I know the feelings of rush, hurry and move on to the next thing that you describe so well. And yet, as I read your post I could feel you (and myself) centering, calming and focusing. Beautiful! Anita
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So pleased to hear that the post had the same effect on you when reading it as it did on me as I was writing it. Don
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Entrancing!
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Thanks Cindy.
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Great post, Don. I’m working on this, it just seems the day speeds by so fast, so I hurry before the day ends. Yet I have no deadlines, the need to hurry is all in my mind. My monkey mind.
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Thanks Angeline. I just noticed that it’s three years to the day when I published this post. Alison and I stopped our nomadic travels six months ago, and are now renting a place long term, with plans to travel for just a couple of months at a time instead of five or six months. I’m finding it easier to just let things be, even though I still get guilt feelings about not doing much of anything: I get up late, exercise, have a late breakfast, buy some groceries, meet a friend for a cup of tea. A simple easy life, and I’m filled with gratitude for the grace that allows this. Don
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