The World Around Us

That’s beach sand magnified 250 times. When you’re laying there reading your book or gossiping or sleeping, your beach towel is spread out over what you had perceived as sand when in fact what was beneath you was a collection of other Being’s former homes.

You are so lost in the maze of your own personal thinking that you barely notice the outside world. Whatever you do notice will be focused on how it affects you, and while you’re busy thinking the world is passing beneath you.

If you don’t want to miss out on the Present Moment, try thinking of Now as a Place instead of a Time. It’s somewhere your consciousness Is Being. So be fully there. Don’t argue with the Present Moment. Don’t expend the energy of your consciousness on weaving conversations with yourself. Instead of your consciousness pushing out by creating those ego-conversations, have it work the other direction instead; by absorbing the world around it impersonally, like a sponge.

There is peace and discovery deep within a silent mind. Quiet your thoughts today. Pay attention to each Moment. Note how your fingers move as you write something down. Think about your keystrokes on your computer—take in the actual motion of your fingers. Feel the weight of your coffee cup at your shoulder. Like you might in Yoga, note which muscles and bones are supporting your actions.

When you eat, stop thinking and actually taste your food. Notice how cleverly you use your tongue to move the food around in your mouth as you chew. Note how dexterously you’ll handle your keys, or the bar of soap in the shower, or if you play an instrument get back in touch with how incredible that is—how you must coordinate many parts of your body to work cooperatively to allow you to play.

Every single day is a miracle. The shapes of clouds, wildlife in the city, the different faces and voices of the people we meet… there are many things for the sponge of our consciousness to absorb. But for that to work, you cannot be saturating your mind with Personal Thinking about times other than Now. It’s that easy.

You’re either doing one thing or the other. You’re either living with a layer of thinking and talking between you and the world, or you’re in the Present Moment taking in the world around you.

Join the miracle. Quiet your personal thinking and wake up to the world. You will find child-like delight in the simplest of things, and in that state of mind even simple beach sand can become a fascinating walk through history.

Now go and enjoy your day like a child would.

Big hugs.

peace. s

Scott McPherson is an Edmonton-based writer, public speaker, and mindfulness facilitator who works with individuals, companies and non-profit organizations locally and around the world.