A Gift of Presence

I walked along the Lakeshore this morning. This is where I walk every day. The water and mountains looked amazing and I regretted not having my camera with me. I thought about running home to grab my camera but I wanted to savor this magnificent scene before it all got away from me.

The sun nudged through broken cloud and created highlights and shadows over the water and mountains. The water looked like a glass plate of deep sapphire, fringed with sky blue beneath the mountain backdrop. A cloud swept down to cover the entirety of one of the mountainsides that hovered directly above the water. The scene was breathtaking. I walked down to the water, stood still and feasted my soul.

I’ve been thinking a lot about staying present these days. I think – no, I know – I need to practice being more present. Everything I get annoyed about, angry at, or judge, comes from a memory that no longer serves my purpose – ever. I’ve recently come to a point where I cannot stand certain ways of my being anymore – the worrying, the anger, the frustration, and the judging. I only hurt myself. In short, I’m tired of suffering.

I’m enjoying my time in solitude and part of that is keeping myself busy. The other part is being with myself in a more compassionate and loving way. I have to say, I’m calmer. How long will it last? I’m not going to worry about it. I’ll enjoy it for as long as it lasts – and keep practicing staying present.

What about happiness?

As I stood on the shore this morning I thought about being present and about happiness. I thought, if I can’t find peace and happiness right where I’m sitting (or standing) in this moment, I’ll never find it.

This is a time of shutting down for a while, of getting closer to who we really are. For many, having to self-isolate is very difficult. For me, and I speak for many others, this is like a break for freedom – to do some self-reflection and feed my soul. Solitude is no issue for me as I do it all the time and it is not only a pleasure but a need, like breathing.

So then, what do I want to change? My desire is to let go of what no longer serves me. Really, I have known this for so long but it’s time to get it on a deeper spiritual level and practice it daily. In any case, it starts right where I am and then everything else will fall into place. Happiness and stillness go hand-in-hand and they run deep – like the lake of sapphire this morning. That was what I needed to see at that moment – the depth and calm of soul.

Simple? Yes. And yet it can be so darn hard to get there but we can get there. This time of self-isolation and social distancing can give us an opportunity to experience the simplicity of stillness and peace. A gift of presence I would say.