What is between the “you” you are right now
and the “you” you want to become?
I’m not talking about what happens to you – I’m talking about the deepest “you” that experiences it all.
All of it.
The joys and the sorrows.
The good fortune and the rotten luck.
Who do you want that to be?
Because your choices define you.
Every moment of every day.
Regardless of whether you take responsibly for all of those choices, the opportunities still come.
At. Every. Moment.
How do you respond?
With integrity?
Or do you miss the moment entirely?
How do you respond to the present moment? How much awareness do you really give it? If you’re like me, it seems there is always something that feels more important drawing my attention away from it. Something to think through.
But all change happens in the present moment.
What could be a more important place to devote some attention?
Thinking about things actually pulls us from the present moment. The more we are thinking about something, the less we are actually able respond to it.
Our brains love to jump around – skipping from topic to topic – planning, processing, admonishing and congratulating – we love to THINK about things. Which is fine. Except when it interferes with our ability to really be in the present moment…
Time always passes.
Things always change.
As much as we like to pretend it isn’t the case, EVERYTHING changes.
It’s all part of a larger picture that none of us can really know for certain – whether that bigger picture is chaos or order, we don’t really know, but we can be certain it is there.
In the words immortalized by Shakespeare,
“There are more things in heaven and earth,
Than are dreamt of in our philosophy.”
It’s not our job to know the details about the bigger picture.
It’s our job to respond to what it brings us in each moment.
To go beyond just reacting to it, and learning to respond to it.
With awareness and integrity.
What’s between the “you” that you are right now, and the “you” you aspire to be? It’s up to you to close that gap.
And guess what?
You CAN close that gap! No matter who you are or where you are from.
Everyone can move closer to becoming the person they want to be.
The secret, if you can call it that, is developing your ability to be in the present moment fully enough that you can capitalize on all the opportunities – all the choices – that come your way.
Then, in the end, when you look back on your life, you can feel truly proud that you really did your best with the hand that was dealt to you.
What’s more valuable than that?
Next Topic: Practice makes Progress
