Open your present

Open your present

Practice being awake in the present moment. Make the most of your
awareness of this hour. Don't live in the past (unless you want guilt) or
worry about the future (unless you want fear), but stay focused on
today (in case you want happiness).

"Until you can put your attention where you want it," said Emmet Fox,
"you have not become master of yourself. You will never be happy until
you can determine what you are going to think about for the next hour."
There is a time for dreaming, planning, and creative goal setting. But
once you are complete with that, learn to live in the here and now. See
your whole life as being contained in this very hour. Let the microcosm
become the macrocosm. Live the words of the poet William Blake and
his description of enlightenment:

"To see a world in a grain of sand
and heaven in a wild flower
hold infinity in the palm of your hand
and eternity in an hour."

Sir Walter Scott said he would trade whole years filled with mindless
conformity for "one hour of life crowded to the full with glorious action, and filled with noble risks."
It's amazing what can be done by people who learn to relax, pay
attention, and focus, appreciating the present hour and all the
opportunity it contains.

It is said that in America we try to cultivate an appreciation of art, while
the Japanese cultivate the art of appreciation. You, too, can cultivate
the art of appreciation. Appreciate this hour. This hour, right now, is
pure opportunity.

The great French philosopher Voltaire was on his deathbed when
someone asked him, "If you had 24 more hours to live, how would you
live them?" Voltaire said, "One at a time."

I'm reading: Open your present