Steph's Ripples

I have been reminded to focus on the daily activities. Focus on the now. Now only exists in this present moment. Even if you don't reach your destination, at least you know you already started. You achieved whatever you needed by living in that moment. There is a huge significance in knowing that you don't have to 'actually' fulfill your goal to have been successful. Thus you concentrate on the 'doing' rather than thinking about the goal. It's about what you can do now and do it. When we pay too much attention to a destination, it's easy to lose hope and detract when times get hard. If we, instead, go on with doing what we need daily, we are already ahead. Whether or not we reach our goal is irrelevant because we are already on the path. We enjoy every moment.  

I think most of the time, we tend to go back. Think about the past, what we did and so forth. When we meet a stranger, their first questions might be where do you come from, what do you know, or what did you study etc? We assume that these events that occur in the past determine who we are. They define us, what we are capable of and our identity. The truth, though, is that we are not where we were born. We are not what we do. We are not what we did 5 or 10 years ago. It's about using all the experiences we had and think about what you can do now. Right now. With all the skills, things learned and discoveries. With all that we have acquired. With all the knowledge. It's all about using what we have.

Something that really stood out for me this year is to stop postponing things. When I get this/ that, when I have some more free time, when I'm on my break, the list goes on. Stop right now. We're so used to living in the future that we tend to forget about what's most essential: the Now. We forego the present moment which is the only moment we have- to enjoy, appreciate, be thankful for. It's good sometimes to reflect and take some time to pause. It's so easy to get caught in the 'busyness' of our lives. We start putting things off and forget what we truly need. Let's us be fully present and do what we need right now- not tomorrow, not later, not in the future.

I was astounded upon reflection to our ephemeral existence. Our lives are sheer and fleeting. It's ridiculous to think of ourselves more than what we are. Live simply in the moment. Choose to be content with the now. Life is too short to live in pain. Embraced life as it comes. Enjoy every moment of it and appreciate all that exist. Life happens in the now, not in the future.

When you become aware that you are not who you are, you release yourself from the identification with the ego by simply Being. You are the one seeing the pattern of thoughts. Don't try to justify anything. Be present and watch.  Be aware, be conscious.  Problems are all self-created, due to the need to be superior. The ego is fearful because it feels insecure, vulnerable. Deep with that sense comes the need to always be right. We fail to live by being controlled by our fears, the egotist mind.   We have to separate ourselves from identification with the ego and be.  If we feel negative, there is no room for positivity. Unless you release pain and fear, we become one with it and constantly feel threatened. We are not living, but always fighting and of course, there's no relief. We dwell on the wrong things.  Become aware of the ego-mind and how it works, in every single task you do or things that occur to you. Once you experience and become ...

One of the most life-changing moments in my life has been to realise that I was not living in the present. This was the decisive moment I truly understood what was stopping me from being me. I was not living, merely existing. The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle really put perspective in my life.  The instant I realised this was a moment of pure enlightenment. Something can be written, told, but until it is experienced by you, it is difficult to understand. Accept that the past is gone and the future's out of reach. By constantly thinking about the past, our previous experiences and the future- what if, we forego what we actually own- NOW! It's so easy for us to forget to cherish the present moment, and by so doing we are left in a state of pure dissatisfaction, unhappiness. We are never truly happy because we are not appreciative of the now. Our mind is either distracted by the future or past actions, events. When you acknowledge that pain is created by not being presen...