How to be present.
Quote by Eckhart Tolle.
Unease,
Anxiety,
Tension,
Stress,
Worry.
All forms of fear are caused by too much future and not enough presence.
Guilt,
Regret,
Resentment,
Grievances,
Sadness,
Bitterness,
And all forms of non-forgiveness are caused by too much past and not enough presence.
Meditation.
The kingdom of God means God here and now.
It means God being near,
God being present.
Jesus talked a lot about the kingdom of God having come.
Later this kingdom was equated with Jesus himself.
Many of the qualities that Jesus embodied had to do with him being fully present.
People gathered around him,
Wanted to touch him,
Wanted to be seen and heard by him as love and healing.
When we learn to be fully in the present moment,
We participate in this healing realm of God.
We are being freed from fear about the future and liberated from resentment about the past.
Love does this.
Love in the here and now is the power that can overcome all anxiety about the future and heal all hurt from the past.
The Bible quote for today is from Matthew 6,
Verse 31 through 33.
Jesus said,
Therefore do not be anxious saying what shall we eat or what shall we drink or what shall we wear.
For the Gentiles seek after all these things and your heavenly father knows that you need them all.
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you.
I want to say a prayer.
God,
Being fully present without worrying about the future or grieving about the past is so hard.
Often we get distracted or overwhelmed by our emotions,
Either looking forward or looking back.
You modeled a way in Jesus of living in the here and now.
You loved whoever came your way.
You allowed to be touched by whoever wanted to feel your presence.
Help us to live today in this manner,
Breathing deeply,
Feeling the sunshine,
Enjoying the small encounters we have,
The smile exchanged in passing.
Today is the day.
Today is all we have and we are grateful.
Amen.
