I had a longtime friend who unfortunately passed away from colon cancer in '07, as did Ben two years later. I miss her immensely. She was my polar opposite, but she had such profound and meaningful insight into this thing we call life. She was a "hippy", I was a "preppy"! She kept signing her emails and notes with "Now Is Forever". I always thought, "huh?". But now I get it.
How can you not be at peace with a view like this?
I indulge in a lot of self-talk, and I listen. As time wears on, I've dubbed myself a "Now" person. I live in the present. I didn't always. But I've learned that there is nothing I can do about the past, and I sure as hell don't have a reason to try to control my future, other than watching my finances. So I concentrate on what's happening to me now. When a minute passes, it moves to the past. You can pick out this kind of person . . . they're easily entertained, they see the wonder in the smallest things, they love in spite of knowing they can be rejected, and they're there for others.
Just sittin' on the pine needles, thinkin'
After thinking about all of this over the past several months, I learned that there's a book entitled The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle, a rip-roarin' best seller, mind you. A small excerpt:
"If you really find your life completely intolerable, right here, right now, you have three options:
Remove yourself from the situation, change it, or accept it totally. If you want to take responsibility for your life, you must choose one of these three options, and you must choose now. Then accept the consequences. No excuses. No negativity. No psychic pollution. Keep your inner space clear."
I think I once said that I have never felt as much at peace as I do at this time in my life. And that's still holding true. Yes, there is sadness, but it doesn't overwhelm me. I just let it flow over and around me, and be on its way. Sometimes there's doubt, but I choose to change that into "why not?" !! I find peace in many things, but most especially books, kayaking (the water factor), photography, and just watching and listening.
This isn't half of them!
Well, I own the condensed version of the aforementioned book on my Kindle, but I haven't sat down and read it from cover to cover. However, I have "picked" at it. And what I've "picked" tells me it's a very spiritual book, and I've found many of my thoughts in what little I've read. Therefore, I shall read it all. Someday. :) And no, this post wasn't a sales pitch for the book. It's not for everyone. Some will forever refuse to let the past go, and try to control the future. My point was the stark differences in how we all deal with life's little trials and tribs, and how we tend to gravitate toward like minds.
My little sidebar kind of says it all:
"I can choose to sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of my loss(es), or I can choose to rise from the pain and treasure the most precious gift I have -- life itself."
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