Tuning In

Yo, don’t be standing over there all wrapped up in your memories and expectations. That’s living in time. That’s living on the outside of life. There’s nothing but trouble over there, nothing but friction. When we live on the outside of life, it’s like living a second-hand life.

There is only life. Even death is life. And life, the Universe, God, whatever, wants us right here in the present moment, where we find, upon close inspection, surprise, there is never a problem.

Every day, life provides countless opportunities to wake up to what we are beyond the movie in our heads. These small events may seem almost not worth noticing. Indeed, most of the time, most of us don’t pay the least attention to the intrinsic value of these ordinary, everyday events: buttoning your shirt in the morning, making coffee, washing the dishes, looking for your phone, putting gas in the car. For instance, the next time you are waiting in line at the grocery store, can there be a noticing of the tapestry of thoughts and judgments in the mind? Can there be a shift from the habit of thinking to just being present with what is happening at that moment, the colors, sounds, feelings, and energy of the situation, without judgment? Can there be a tuning into the energy field of one’s body/mind?

This coming to the attention of small events may not, at first, seem like much, but I would suggest that it is, in essence, a quantum shift in consciousness and a small step toward a life without friction, no matter what our circumstances.