As we approach the end of the calendar year, there is an abundance of folks loudly proclaiming good riddance to the current year with the hope that the next year will bring relief from the challenges of today. I understand the emotion behind both aspects. This has been a strange year for sure.
I choose to reframe that thinking a bit and I go back to the teachings of Eckhart Tolle, the author of The Power of NOW! When I found myself becoming an expert at making mountains out of molehills, mostly of things that had not yet happened, I looked for a resource to remove the clouds from my brain. Eckhart Tolle was there. I spent countless hours reading his writing and listening to the recordings of his oddly strange voice. That quirky voice actually helped to ingrain many of the points he was making. His fundamental tenant is that we ONLY have one moment in life and that ONE moment is NOW. The past is done and we can’t change it. The future is in front and we do not know what it will bring. We ONLY have NOW! A simple thought, but a complex position to take, and hold! Easy to say, VERY difficult to execute that focus. I give you a few of his quotes for your consideration….
With respect to the current pandemic challenges if you choose….
-“Some changes look negative on the surface but you will soon realize that space is being created in your life for something new to emerge.”
- “The primary cause of unhappiness is never the situation but thought about it. Be aware of the thoughts you are thinking. Separate them from the situation, which is always neutral. It is as it is.”Staying in the current moment…
- “Realize deeply that the present moment is all you have. Make the NOW the primary focus of your life.”
- “Time isn’t precious at all, because it is an illusion. What you perceive as precious is not time but the one point that is out of time: the Now. That is precious indeed. The more you are focused on time—past and future—the more you miss the Now, the most precious thing there is.”
- “Accept - then act. Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it. Always work with it, not against it.”
- “Worry pretends to be necessary but serves no useful purpose”
- “The past has no power over the present moment.”And finally, a summary thought…
- “All negativity is caused by an accumulation of psychological time and denial of the present. Unease, anxiety, tension, stress, worry - all forms of fear - are caused by too much future, and
not enough presence. Guilt, regret, resentment, grievances, sadness, bitterness, and all forms
of non-forgiveness are caused by too much past, and not enough presence.”
So, regardless of how we view 2020 and the upcoming year, our singular challenge is to make the very most we can out of the one moment that we can work on… NOW! 2021 will have plenty of moments of all kinds! And we will take each of those moments and accept them as if we had chosen them, AND we will make the very best of each NOW! For that is ALL that we have! No past or future to control us… only our NOW. Take action, own your NOW!
Put your energy into SERVING. Serving others, everywhere, work, school, church, home, the street corner, everywhere you can find someone that you can help, NOW!
CARE greatly,
UNDERSTAND deeply,
SERVE endlessly, with
PURPOSE
This applies deeply in what is called “selling”. Do it from the heart, do it NOW, and focus on the outcome for others in your journey. A final quote from Eckhart Tolle…
“Don't let a mad world tell you that success is anything other than a successful present moment.”
OK, LET’S ROLL!
Mitch