Don't Resist the NOW

“To offer no resistance to life is to be in a state of grace, ease, and lightness. This state is then no longer dependent upon things being in a certain way, good or bad. It seems almost paradoxical, yet when your inner dependency on form is gone, the general conditions of your life, the outer forms, tend to improve greatly. Things, people, or conditions that you thought you needed for your happiness now come to you with no struggle or effort on your part, and you are free to enjoy and appreciate them - while they last. All those things, of course, will still pass away, cycles will come and go, but with dependency gone there is no fear of loss anymore. Life flows with ease.”
― Eckhart Tolle

 

What is resistance to life and how does it apply to us? We all resist many things in life- more often than not. There is the old saying “Life is 10% of what happens to you and 90% of how you react to it.” This doesn’t mean to not have goals and strive for great things and favorable circumstances. But we all know that all of those things are not attainable all of the time. Much of life is circumstances we do not prefer or do not like. It is all essentially up to you if you are a happy individual or not. The happiness is a choice of how you perceive the world and choose to interpret situations around you. We often find ourselves in places we do not want to be or people we don’t want to be around, but we have to be there anyway, don’t we. Most of us have to work, since most of us are not instant scratch of lottery winners or trust fund babies. Letting go of resistance to the now is allowing the now to transform into something better than we had allowed it to be before. If you must be at work- be there- and be there now. What that means is to be present in the moments that are now. Make the most of your day as a choice and be present in the work you do and the people you interact with. Most of us in conversation are never really present in who we are talking to or what we are talking about. We focus on what is in our minds such as grocery lists and what we might do later that day or on the weekend. We are never really present with who we are with or what we are doing. Our focus is on the past, the future, or the thoughts our minds. The mind is always on, but you could be missing something interesting NOW. You could be creating sincere conversations and work situations. If you are at the doctor’s office in the waiting room- make the most out of it. Don’t dwell on waiting- do something fun in the present moment. Bring a great book to read or something to do. You have to be there anyway.

My personal least favorite are the grocery store, the post office and the gas station. I try to remove myself from my own egoic mind and be where I am. Smile at the other people there and say hello. Be in the moment wherever you are no matter where you are. You always have the choice to make the most of your situation. You don’t not have to be trapped in the mind with your constant thoughts and miss the life that goes on around you now. I’d rather be on a yacht on the Greek isles right now eating feta cheese and olives….but I am not. I am here in the present moment- and choosing to be Present- wherever I am. Enjoy the NOW wherever you are and make the most of the time we have-which is the present.