“Be here now.”
- Sam, age 14
My
friend’s son Sam has been bored during his English class. When the class read Huckleberry Finn, he was frustrated with
how long Huck and Jim stayed on the raft. He constantly looked at
the clock, wishing the class would end. However, he realized that looking at it
seemed to make the period last longer. “I said to myself,” he explained to his
Mom, “that I just need to stop looking at the clock. I just need to be here
now.” His mother told him that it takes some adults many, many years to learn
that lesson.
Sam’s decision to “Be Here Now” echoes the
title of a 1971 book on spirituality, yoga and meditation by
the Western-born yogi and spiritual teacher Ram Dass—the name coined from
a statement made by his guide Bhagavan Das during Ram Dass’s journeys in India.
Mentally fighting against “what
is” can fuel our anger and frustration. How can you make the most of the moment
you’re in—how can you “be here now,” as Sam and Ram Dass advise?
I think there is such a strong desire to control everything. In Sam's case, it was trying to move the clock forward. Since he realized that it was out of his control, he accepted it and made the conscious decision to accept it and be present in the moment. Despite my years of yoga practice, I find myself still wanting to control things I can't. It's a matter of recognizing this and letting go. In my case, it's usually closing my eyes and taking a couple of deep breaths!
ReplyDeleteNamaste, Jon
Thanks so much for your comment, Jon. Sam's acceptance of what he cannot control inspires me to do the same. Wish it wasn't such a tough lesson to learn (and relearn and relearn)!
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