The Paradise of the Present

The Paradise of the Present Moment
(written in December, 2005)

I woke up this morning with a wonderful thought: Today I will be living in a paradise – the paradise of the present moment. As I continued to think about it, I became more and more amazed to realize that today I will live always in the present moment – will be, in effect, a prisoner of the present. For the entire day, I will not be able to escape from the moment that is happening right now. The great and spectacular present will always be bursting up and shining all around me. And of course, why would I want to escape from the present? After all, since it’s the only moment that could possibly be occurring right now, that means it’s the perfect moment for right now – and perfection is something we find only in paradise. So, if I am going to be living in paradise all day today, why would I want to escape from it?? I guess I should congratulate myself this morning, or pat myself on the back, or throw a quiet party for myself. Why? Because I am one of the really lucky people on earth. Today, this frigid December 6th, I will be living in a paradise as beautiful as any place on earth. I’ll just be in my modest classroom, Room 2 at Pine Point School, but I’ll be relaxing in the present moment like I’m on a spectacular beach.

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