when i opened the insight timer app on my phone this morning to begin my daily meditation, this sentence by eckhart tolle appeared: "wherever you are, be there totally." these are six difficult words. i began to look around our living room where i was sitting and to think about what being in this space totally might mean. first, i looked all around me, to the right and to the left.
next my eyes settled on a good-sized round table that sits in front of the large window that looks onto our deck and off to the mountains behind our house. on this table is a beautiful lamp with a floral pattern on a white background. the bulb is covered by a graceful shade. this lamp is switched on and off by a timer, so it is usually on by the time i sit down to meditate each morning. the lamp is only one of several beautiful objects on the table. in front of it are three lladro figurines. one is a young girl holding a kitten with a larger cat at her feet. the other two are of angelic children, one seated and the other reclining. all three are perfect representations of innocence and peace. to the right of the lamp is a display of three pocket watches, one of which belonged to my paternal grandfather and the other to my father. both are treasures that have great meaning to me. i don't know how we came to possess the third pocket watch. to the left of the lamp is a lovely waterford crystal biscuit jar, and in front of the biscuit jar is a small round tray commerating the coronation of queen elizabeth ii that i found in an antique shop in a nearby town. altogether, these pieces make a lovely display on the table, one i pass every day without really noticing it.
i could go around the round describing all its contents that i pay little attention to each day. much of our lives are like the experience i'm having as i write this post. we move through our days and, if you're like me, you are seldom totally present. our minds are taking us off to recollections of past events or worries about the future. we drive past beautiful scenery in our cars without noticing what is just outside our windows. we sit in beautiful rooms and fail to pay attention to all the lovely things that surround us. we see people in distress as we move through our lives and do nothing to help them. tolle suggests that we should be totally present wherever we are, and that's an admirable goal to work toward. it's also a difficult goal. my intention today and for the next few days, and, if i work at it, for the remainder of my life is to wake up and pay attention.
may we each awaken as fully as we can. may we not waste the present with regrets about the past or worries about the future. may we treasure where the past has brought us and plan for the future while paying attention to what is around and in us in the present. "wherever you are, be there totally." shalom.
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