Thursday, May 18, Chapter 18: The Present

THE PRESENT
You are walking along in a beautiful place. This is a good thing. You feel your feet touching and lifting from the ground. This is a good thing. You notice the air coming in and out of your nostrils. This is a good thing. You see the trees and the birds, you feel the slight breeze, you hear bird song and insects. All good, all now.

And then you think about the party you didn’t get invited to. Bummer. Why were you left out. The thoughts go on and on and you aren’t really on the walk anymore, you are in some strange bummer/thought land

If on the walk, you might not be able to write down the thoughts, but what if you were so habituated to being in the present, that you noticed your breathing was no longer happy, that your feelings were no longer happy, your walk was no longer connected to you? And you wonder: how did this happen?

And you notice all the thoughts.

And you can see and feel the results of all those thoughts.

And then you could ask the fourth question: who or what would I be without the thoughts, and you’d be right back where you started, just on a walk, enjoy bird and breath and feet touch ground. Maybe this is where you bring your attention, back to left foot, right foot on the ground, breath coming in, breath coming out.

Simplicity itself and you are happy again.