I found this very interesting. It's about living in the now.
Sunday, June 6, 2004 (6:41 AM)
Daily Quado:
A reader asks:
I understand living in the moment, but some people are so focused on the "now" that they neglect to plan for the future. What's the proper balance?
Quado, do you have an answer to this question?
Ah, yes, of course, of course.
The very question contains the answer, for the answer, of course, is in balance.
First a word about the power of now, of this moment, and why you are encouraged to leave the past and future and come here, into now. It is so important that you grasp this concept and grasp it fully.
By saying that the power is within now, this moment, it is saying that you must bring your mind out of regrets over the past and out of worries over the future and deal with life as it is now. You must see how things are, clearly. They are not the way you wanted them to be, this is true. They are not the way you were afraid they would be either. They are the way they are. And as they are, there is much in every moment that is precious, wonderful and also contains the seeds for a future which you would treasure, if only you could recognize it for what it is.
The future is just the next moment, the next heartbeat, the thing that was out there, one step ahead and now is here, now and now. Every moment, the future is becoming now. And when it arrives, when it is upon you, then it is now and then it also contains the seeds for the next moment.
The future is not some distant thing, unattainable. The future is not something to fear. But nor is the future something that will suddenly cure all of your ills and turn your life into a fairytale castle. The future is just like this moment, a moment full of promise, a moment full of opportunity, a moment full of challenge. And within it, within that future moment, as within this moment, you are you. And if you are full of joy and love and fulfillment, then the moment picks up this hue, this rosy color of joy. And if you are full of unhappiness and dissatisfaction, then you will carry that into the future moment as well.
Yes, it is important to think of the future, in terms of what you would like, for as we have discussed, your life is like a garden, and there are some things which take time to grow. You cannot expect an orchard to spring up overnight. Certain things can be planted and come to fruition in one season, but other things take time to grow.
And so, as you look at your life now, and as you look at the life you would like to have, you must consider this, take into account which things will take time to mature and grow into the sheltering tree, which things can be planted and enjoyed in a few months and what things just happen to be growing wild and can be picked right now. And you will want a balance of these in your life. You will want a balance of the sweet tomatoes of this one season and the enduring apple tree which can sustain you year over year. And of course, you will want the sweet roses, which blossom briefly and feed only your soul but return year after year to let their perfume waft out over your life. All of this is good. All of this is beautiful and a part of life.
But right now, you are where you are. Right now, there are weeds to be pulled. Right now, there are seeds to be planted for the coming season and a tree to be watered for the future, some years out. And the ability to do this, to pull those weeds and plant those seeds, to water that tree and to prune the roses to protect them from the winter storm, all of this exists right now.
This is the mix that you want. You want to balance your life so that you hold a clear understanding and acceptance of how things are now, without focusing on the past and filling yourself with regret or anger over what brought you to this place. Just a clear view of now. Right now, perhaps, the garden lies in shambles. Right now, the tree you so carefully nurtured has been uprooted and the garden is choked with the weeds of anger and regret. Right now, this is how things are.
So begin again. Clear those weeds; get them out of your life. Plant again a little seedling and nurture it carefully, using the knowledge you gained from before. Plant all the wonders of life in your garden. And as you clear those weeds, you will find that many of the plants have survived, some you had thought dead. And you will find that life has brought you other things as well; springing up in the destruction of what you had thought you wanted, suddenly are wonders beyond what you had hoped. Yes, they are there too, opening to life. And all you have to do to see them is to let the past go. Let it go and see what little green shoots there are in your garden right now. Care for these. Bring these to fruition. Nurture these.
And in this way, you are within now, acting now, responding now, being open to what truly is, and at the same time you are building a future, you are creating things now which will help you in your future. It is really quite simple, if you will but look at it in this way. And yes, it is all about balance. For there will come some days when you step out into your garden and the sun is shining so brightly, the birds are singing a song for you, asking you to stop all of this toil for just a moment and just be, just be in love, joy and peace. They ask you to lie down on the green grass and feel the earth singing underneath your body. They sing a song of beingness and connection, right now, and ask you to sing it with them.
Yes, this moment is full of that wonder. And in a balanced life, a fulfilling life, you can live this balance every day, every moment, taking the beautiful moments and mixing them in with those that contain the work you must do and the challenges you must face. You can learn to grasp the joy of the sky while walking across the parking lot to your job and just glancing up and watching a cloud drift across the sky. You can learn to place a rose on your desk, and then take a deep breath and let that rose center you throughout the day. You can learn to bring balance and joy into each moment, instead of grinding away your life in despair.
And as for the past? It is gone. It is no longer real. Let it go, let it go. Bring forward only the lessons you have learned, the strength you have picked up and the occasional flood of sweet memory. But as for the rest, let it go.
Embrace this moment. And embrace within this moment also those actions you take which are in your own best interest, those disciplines and activities which are building and creating the life you wish to have. Do what you can. Take the action which works for you, and then let it go. Then let it go out into the world now, in this moment, and build upon the other forces and energies which are there, those other things which are flowing toward you and of which you must remain aware.
Mix it all up. Be loose and flexible and observant. And when things do not turn out as you had hoped they would, just let go, and observe and respond.
You can learn to do this with joy and acceptance. You can learn to control your own response rather than trying to control the outside world and not yourself. Why expend so much effort trying to control everything except the one thing you might learn to control, which is yourself and your responses?
Even under the snow, the rose survives, fed by roots which sustain. You can be like this as well. You can learn to pull yourself down into your roots when you need to and then, when the sun shines again, and it always does, to blossom forth, sending out new little shoots to reach the sun and covering yourself with the little buds which will become the blossoms of beauty. It all happens now, but in the soil which you prepared before.
How would you like your life to be? What can you do right now which will prepare that soil? What can you plant right now which will grow into something beautiful? What wonderful little green shoot came up unexpectedly in your garden that you should be watering right now?
And as you do this, as you tend to that garden, remember to enjoy the process, to love the feel of the sun on your shoulders, the sweat dripping from your brow, the dirt under your fingernails. This is life. This working is good. The planting, the sowing, and the lying on the grass you have so carefully planted. All of this is good. All of this is life. Enjoy!
***
If you have a question you believe might interest other Quado readers, please send it to carriehart@msn.com
Visit www.carriehart.com for meditation CDs, healing services, music and more. To hear samples from the Quado Meditation on Self-Love, go directly to http://www.carriehart.com/meditations.htm
This newsletter is distributed free of charge. Just send an email with Subscribe or Unsubscribe as the subject to carriehart@msn.com .
Copyright 2004 by Systematique, Inc.
Sunday, June 6, 2004 (6:41 AM)
Daily Quado:
A reader asks:
I understand living in the moment, but some people are so focused on the "now" that they neglect to plan for the future. What's the proper balance?
Quado, do you have an answer to this question?
Ah, yes, of course, of course.
The very question contains the answer, for the answer, of course, is in balance.
First a word about the power of now, of this moment, and why you are encouraged to leave the past and future and come here, into now. It is so important that you grasp this concept and grasp it fully.
By saying that the power is within now, this moment, it is saying that you must bring your mind out of regrets over the past and out of worries over the future and deal with life as it is now. You must see how things are, clearly. They are not the way you wanted them to be, this is true. They are not the way you were afraid they would be either. They are the way they are. And as they are, there is much in every moment that is precious, wonderful and also contains the seeds for a future which you would treasure, if only you could recognize it for what it is.
The future is just the next moment, the next heartbeat, the thing that was out there, one step ahead and now is here, now and now. Every moment, the future is becoming now. And when it arrives, when it is upon you, then it is now and then it also contains the seeds for the next moment.
The future is not some distant thing, unattainable. The future is not something to fear. But nor is the future something that will suddenly cure all of your ills and turn your life into a fairytale castle. The future is just like this moment, a moment full of promise, a moment full of opportunity, a moment full of challenge. And within it, within that future moment, as within this moment, you are you. And if you are full of joy and love and fulfillment, then the moment picks up this hue, this rosy color of joy. And if you are full of unhappiness and dissatisfaction, then you will carry that into the future moment as well.
Yes, it is important to think of the future, in terms of what you would like, for as we have discussed, your life is like a garden, and there are some things which take time to grow. You cannot expect an orchard to spring up overnight. Certain things can be planted and come to fruition in one season, but other things take time to grow.
And so, as you look at your life now, and as you look at the life you would like to have, you must consider this, take into account which things will take time to mature and grow into the sheltering tree, which things can be planted and enjoyed in a few months and what things just happen to be growing wild and can be picked right now. And you will want a balance of these in your life. You will want a balance of the sweet tomatoes of this one season and the enduring apple tree which can sustain you year over year. And of course, you will want the sweet roses, which blossom briefly and feed only your soul but return year after year to let their perfume waft out over your life. All of this is good. All of this is beautiful and a part of life.
But right now, you are where you are. Right now, there are weeds to be pulled. Right now, there are seeds to be planted for the coming season and a tree to be watered for the future, some years out. And the ability to do this, to pull those weeds and plant those seeds, to water that tree and to prune the roses to protect them from the winter storm, all of this exists right now.
This is the mix that you want. You want to balance your life so that you hold a clear understanding and acceptance of how things are now, without focusing on the past and filling yourself with regret or anger over what brought you to this place. Just a clear view of now. Right now, perhaps, the garden lies in shambles. Right now, the tree you so carefully nurtured has been uprooted and the garden is choked with the weeds of anger and regret. Right now, this is how things are.
So begin again. Clear those weeds; get them out of your life. Plant again a little seedling and nurture it carefully, using the knowledge you gained from before. Plant all the wonders of life in your garden. And as you clear those weeds, you will find that many of the plants have survived, some you had thought dead. And you will find that life has brought you other things as well; springing up in the destruction of what you had thought you wanted, suddenly are wonders beyond what you had hoped. Yes, they are there too, opening to life. And all you have to do to see them is to let the past go. Let it go and see what little green shoots there are in your garden right now. Care for these. Bring these to fruition. Nurture these.
And in this way, you are within now, acting now, responding now, being open to what truly is, and at the same time you are building a future, you are creating things now which will help you in your future. It is really quite simple, if you will but look at it in this way. And yes, it is all about balance. For there will come some days when you step out into your garden and the sun is shining so brightly, the birds are singing a song for you, asking you to stop all of this toil for just a moment and just be, just be in love, joy and peace. They ask you to lie down on the green grass and feel the earth singing underneath your body. They sing a song of beingness and connection, right now, and ask you to sing it with them.
Yes, this moment is full of that wonder. And in a balanced life, a fulfilling life, you can live this balance every day, every moment, taking the beautiful moments and mixing them in with those that contain the work you must do and the challenges you must face. You can learn to grasp the joy of the sky while walking across the parking lot to your job and just glancing up and watching a cloud drift across the sky. You can learn to place a rose on your desk, and then take a deep breath and let that rose center you throughout the day. You can learn to bring balance and joy into each moment, instead of grinding away your life in despair.
And as for the past? It is gone. It is no longer real. Let it go, let it go. Bring forward only the lessons you have learned, the strength you have picked up and the occasional flood of sweet memory. But as for the rest, let it go.
Embrace this moment. And embrace within this moment also those actions you take which are in your own best interest, those disciplines and activities which are building and creating the life you wish to have. Do what you can. Take the action which works for you, and then let it go. Then let it go out into the world now, in this moment, and build upon the other forces and energies which are there, those other things which are flowing toward you and of which you must remain aware.
Mix it all up. Be loose and flexible and observant. And when things do not turn out as you had hoped they would, just let go, and observe and respond.
You can learn to do this with joy and acceptance. You can learn to control your own response rather than trying to control the outside world and not yourself. Why expend so much effort trying to control everything except the one thing you might learn to control, which is yourself and your responses?
Even under the snow, the rose survives, fed by roots which sustain. You can be like this as well. You can learn to pull yourself down into your roots when you need to and then, when the sun shines again, and it always does, to blossom forth, sending out new little shoots to reach the sun and covering yourself with the little buds which will become the blossoms of beauty. It all happens now, but in the soil which you prepared before.
How would you like your life to be? What can you do right now which will prepare that soil? What can you plant right now which will grow into something beautiful? What wonderful little green shoot came up unexpectedly in your garden that you should be watering right now?
And as you do this, as you tend to that garden, remember to enjoy the process, to love the feel of the sun on your shoulders, the sweat dripping from your brow, the dirt under your fingernails. This is life. This working is good. The planting, the sowing, and the lying on the grass you have so carefully planted. All of this is good. All of this is life. Enjoy!
***
If you have a question you believe might interest other Quado readers, please send it to carriehart@msn.com
Visit www.carriehart.com for meditation CDs, healing services, music and more. To hear samples from the Quado Meditation on Self-Love, go directly to http://www.carriehart.com/meditations.htm
This newsletter is distributed free of charge. Just send an email with Subscribe or Unsubscribe as the subject to carriehart@msn.com .
Copyright 2004 by Systematique, Inc.
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