Hello,
My name's Ian Tucker.
Welcome.
I'd like to share with you a universal truth,
If I may.
That's a truth that's always been true.
Is true now and always will be true.
Now.
.
.
Is all that there is.
I'd like to repeat that.
Now,
This moment that you and I find ourselves sharing is the only thing that's real in this life.
The only thing that we can be certain of is this moment.
Or any moment that we find ourselves in.
For thousands of years the wise,
The sages,
The gurus,
Have all had one consistent message.
The more that you and I can slow down,
And simply allow ourselves to be here or to notice any moment that we're in.
The better my life and your life will be.
In Buddhism,
There is a term called suffering.
To me,
Suffering is the inability to live.
With a gentle heart or a calm mind.
I have to tell you that the majority of my suffering in the last 60 years or so has been my inability to simply be here with you now.
Or to not allow myself to be in any moment that I'm in.
You see,
There's something called the past and something called the future.
Neither exists.
And yet,
For some reason,
I allow myself to drift and hang about there.
No foundation for life.
Let's look at the past first of all.
Your past.
My past.
Gone forever.
Nothing can change a second.
Of what's already happened.
And yet some part of me thinks that if I drift back to the past and hang around there.
I can create change.
But it simply doesn't exist.
So I have no foundation to live a life if I'm stuck in the past.
Let's drift back from the past.
Through this present moment to something called the future.
The uncertainty of what may or may not happen.
Ultimately our lack of control for just about anything after this moment.
Emotions that we associate with the future are anxiety,
Worry.
Uncertainty.
And I have to tell you that just about everything,
In fact 99.
9% of anything that I have ever worried about has never happened.
Let's just pause on that for a moment,
The frailty of worry,
Of riddling our bodies with anxiety and worry.
And yet I have sixty years that proves to me that just about everything I've ever worried about has never happened.
So let's drift back now to this moment,
To the connection that you and I have.
The more that we can slow down.
Feel our feet on the floor.
Feel our breath.
And notice what's happening around us.
The better.
Our life will be.
And if we do drift back.
.
.
To the past which we will.
Let's bring back to this moment cherished memories.
Rather than regret.
Let's bring back small things.
That lift us up.
That fill our heart.
It may have only been small at the time but you realise in this moment The little things can become the big things.
So cherished memories from the past.
And as for the future,
Well.
.
.
I would like to remind you that your future is full of beautiful things.
They may not be groundbreaking or life-changing.
But each moment offers you an opportunity when you slow down.
To notice the beauty in your life.
And that's where hope comes in.
Hope for a better tomorrow.
Hope for a better next year.
Whatever it is.
But the only time we can create real change or decide not to change is in this moment.
The past has gone forever.
Just about everything that you and I have ever worried about.
As never happened.
And what has happened that's come to test us,
We've got through.
That doesn't leave a lot out.
So let's come back to this moment together now.
Let's pause just for a moment.
And remind ourselves that we can take something from the past as a lesson or as an experience and use it to create change now,
The only time that's real.
And we can look at the future,
Realise that worry is part of who we are,
But to come back to this moment and take gentle steps.
That give us a better chance of a better tomorrow.
Now?
Is all that there is.
The more that you and I can stay with that.
The better my life.
And your life will be.
And you deserve that.
I'll see you again soon.
