This Moment

I am sitting at my computer. Rain is falling outside and the air is hot enough to grow orchids. My air conditioner is a remedy for the outside oven air and my roof sees to it that I am dry. I am surrounded by beautiful music thanks to a combination of technological magic and God given talent bestowed on the musicians. I am content - this moment.

Is my life perfect? No.

Will it ever be perfect? No.

Is my future certain? No.

Do these things sometimes bother me? Yes.

Still, in this moment, I am content. 

Our present is a chain of moments.

I could lament the good moments will not last.

I can have hope and faith the bad moments will not last.

I can ignore this moment and worry about past moments.

I can fear approaching moments.

It is a choice I make. . . each moment.

Do you remember “The Incredible Hulk” television series? It aired on CBS from 1978 to 1982. One episode contained the parable below and it has stayed with me all these years:

A Parable 

Buddha told a parable in a sutra: 

A man traveling across a field encountered a tiger. He fled, the tiger after him. Coming to a precipice, he caught hold of the root of a wild vine and swung himself down over the edge. The tiger sniffed at him from above.

Trembling, the man looked down to where, far below, another tiger was waiting to eat him. The vine sustained him. 

Two mice, one white and one black, little by little started to gnaw away the vine. The man saw a luscious strawberry near him. Grasping the vine with one hand, he plucked the strawberry with the other. How sweet it

tasted!

Often when I talk to people about the power of their choice, they defend their anxiety. “I can’t help it - my troubles are real. . .

I suppose they are real, but only for a moment.

Of course, life requires balance. We must prepare for the future. We may need to correct past wrongs, and we must learn the discipline of knowing when to be completely present in this moment.

What if you were in a theater and you wondered if you locked your car. You could leave the theater to check the car. You could fret throughout the show and instead of enjoyment you would experience stress, or you could be in the moment.

It will only feel good for a little while. It will only hurt for a little while. We are here and then we are gone. Live your life in such a way you will have no regrets. You can run out of money, but you cannot run out of expressing love. It only takes a moment.