Stop Waiting - It's Here!
abracad, · Categories: self helpWhat are you waiting for? To graduate school or college; find a new job; get a raise or promotion; start your own business; buy your own home; maybe for the kids to fly the nest; or even retirement?
We all seem to be waiting for something, that when it comes, will make everything alright. Or, put another way, for a reason to be happy.
The problem is that when coveted thing arrives we often find it doesn't make us as happy as we thought it would. It probably doesn't make us any happier at all.
A few years ago I received a telephone call informing me that my father was suffering from a very serious illness. I dropped everything and flew back to my home town. Sadly, Dad's treatment didn't work and he passed away a few weeks later. The last time I saw Dad, just a few months before, he seemed fine and wished me well in my new venture.
I don't recount this tale to be gloomy, I'd rather remember the many positive things Dad did with his life. But it serves as a reminder of how uncertain life is. Surprises - nice and not so nice - may be waiting around every corner.
The message is to stop looking to an imaginary future when everything will be alright and start living in the only time and place we ever have - here and now. If you'll just stop thinking long enough to notice you'll see myriad things to rejoice in, the wonders of nature, the beauty of music and art, the privilege of friendship. Yes, there's a few bad things too, we couldn't learn without them, but on the whole the present moment's a great place to be.
Sure, you can sill have your dreams, but remember they are built in the present. And you'll still find when you reach them they don't seem quite as good as you imagined, but rejoice in that too, because you still have reason to go further. And isn't that what life is all about?
This concept was eloquently expressed by Robert J. Hastings in his superb essay The Station.
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