In the Moment

Every possession and every happiness is but lent by chance for an uncertain time, and may therefore be demanded back the next hour. – Arthur Schopenhauer

If only we could learn to live in the moment. Happiness would be expressed and embraced and sadness would simply be accepted as something that passes in the blink of time. Each moment of our life brings a gift of knowledge, a drop of wisdom, and an opportunity to live fully with conscious awareness of the beauty and joy that is ever present. As humans the problem we face is becoming attached to both the good and the bad. We get caught up in the possession of time unable to simply flow with life. This is why yoga emphasizes detachment.

Detachment does not mean that we live without possessions, feelings, emotions, and experiences. It means that we embrace all of life always willing to release ourselves from what leaves our life and to appreciate what comes into our life.

Life is a mystery with one moment blending into the next. We may think we can control the world and we may think that we can predict what will happen next but ultimately life is a series of moments that unfold beyond our control. The problem is that we are unable to respect the mystery of life. We believe that everything should be known, controlled, and possessed.

True happiness and possession does not fade because a thing comes into or goes out of our lives. Happiness is present and content with each tick of time because we are able to detach from the emotion and simply live in the ebb and the flow of the moment.

 Our external reality is a reflection of our internal state of being. If we are happy in and of ourselves our world reflects this happiness no matter what is taken from us. We reflect a sense of strength. We live by the principle lesson of yoga; happiness cannot be bought with a quick fix but is the maturity that is dedicated to higher values and ideals.

Yoga is a discipline of conscious living. When we consciously live from a place of gratitude, happiness and joy become our inner state of being no matter what the next hour gives or takes from us. We transcend the ego and find peace and serenity throughout all of life’s experiences.

So although in the external world happiness and possessions can come and go, when we practice yoga we are eternally established in a place of balance where our peace and happiness is not disturbed by unforeseen or uncontrollable events. We simply live the moment aware of the beauty of life. Life on earth is a gift given to us for a short amount of time. What we do with this gift determines the outcome of our moment to moment existence. All we truly possess is the present moment. Happiness knows that what life takes away is always replaced with something we need more dearly. We open our hearts and rejoice for the pure joy of simply living.

Doctor Lynn
www.doctorlynn.com