Gift Yourself with Courage

As I sit near a window overlooking the pacific ocean, I can in this moment, only feel grateful. I look back on my life at all the stories, real, imagined, my history, each one that has brought me  to this moment. I have come to the conclusion that living in the present, “this now moment” is a gift I have been given and one I have not spent enough time with. I takes great courage to live in the moment, without being distracted by the furious pace of the world.

There are many gifts presented to us daily.  Which ones get opened is a choice only we can make for ourselves. I wonder how many truly gratifying gifts I missed out on because they were not wrapped in pretty paper. A gift content to wait patiently until I open my eyes enough to see it. When I live totally present in each moment, completely immersed, life is dramatically different than when I am distracted.

Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift – that is why we call it the present.  – Unknown Author

Gift yourself in courage to live in the present moment. Try it on for size and see how it fits.  I am sure you will find the more you live in the now, the happier your life will be. “The Present Moment” is a book by Thich Nhat Hanh you may enjoy.  It is a retreat on the practice of mindfulness.