麻豆约拍

A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Dr Steve Taylor, author on psychology and spirituality.

Good morning.

Once I was in New York on holiday, sitting in a caf茅 on Wall Street watching people rush by, in the middle of their working days. 鈥淲here are they all going?鈥� I wondered. Of course, they all had different destinations, but I realised that, in a sense, they were all rushing towards the same place: the future. They were all trying to reach the future as quick as they could, for their next appointment or meeting.

When we rush, it鈥檚 difficult to be in the present. To be in the present, you have to slow down. You have to look around, taking in the reality of each moment. You have to be aware. This is the essence of mindfulness 鈥� when your mind is full of your experience in the present.

It鈥檚 a shame that many of our lives are so full of activity and busyness, because in a sense, life only takes place in the present. The past and the future only really exist in our minds 鈥� the past as memory, the future as anticipation.

So today, treat yourself to a few periods of slowness. Every so often, step off the train of incessant activity, to take in the reality of the landscape around you.

Here are some spiritual reflections to contemplate:

Slow down.
Don鈥檛 be so desperate to reach the future
that you push the present away.

Treat each moment with respect
as a friend who deserves your attention.

Greet every new experience as a guest
who鈥檚 welcome to be part of your life.

Slow down
and feel how the stress of doing
turns into ease of being.

Slow down
and feel how your rigid separateness
softens into spacious belonging.

Slow down
and see how the future fades like a mirage
and how the present arises around you
as clear and fresh as dawn.

Blessings.

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