MEDITATION: "True Relaxation"

Today, while I was doing my early morning spiritual reading and listening to the first birdsongs of the day, I suddenly realized – really understood – that this present moment is all I ever have, and that I need to relax and allow it to be exactly what it is. It’s good that I realized this while I was doing my morning reading, because, for as long as I can recall, I have been trying to escape from the present moment during these reading periods. I constantly think ahead to future moments, something like this: “How long will it take me this morning to complete my reading? Will I understand what I will read in the next few moments? Should I read a little faster?” All of these questions turn my focus away from the vast power of the present moment. It’s as if I was standing in front of an enormous treasure chest, and all I wanted to do was look anywhere but at the chest. What’s really intriguing about this is that I have no choice but to live in the present. It’s absolutely all there ever is. I am actually a prisoner of the present. And what’s even more astonishing is that, since the present is all that exists, it must contain all the power that exists. The present moment – right now – holds more power than 20,000 hurricanes combined, because it’s always where all the vast power in the universe is centered. If it’s all there is, it must contain all the power. Therefore, when I read a single sentence in my spiritual books, that sentence actually shines with the immeasurable power of the universe. Why would I want to take my eyes off something so bright and beautiful? Why not just relax and allow it to be its unblemished, powerful self?