If you cannot find the truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it?
-Dogen Zenji
The truth, or perhaps we could call it—“our purpose” or “our meaning”—is found in the present moment—in whatever particular form it takes.
The truth is not waiting for you at a meditation retreat or yoga class, in a new job or new marriage, or even in a different more evolved sense of self—one in which you are kinder, more generous, spiritual or loving. The truth is not in tomorrow or yesterday.
The truth is right now—in every detail of your life, in all the sublime and gritty details of your life. So, what is your relationship to this present moment?
Obviously, some moments are more challenging than others, but the fact is that this moment is this moment is undeniable, and it is resistance to this that creates our suffering.
But when we accept our present moment—whether it is blissful or painful—we see a truth greater than ourselves and our current situation. We stop avoiding ourselves and uncomfortable feelings ; we stop repeating the dramas and stories that so often govern our lives. And instead we create space for stillness, peace, Presence. And we begin flowing with Life, rather than working against it.
We can make things so complicated, but the truth is simpler than we realize. We embody already all that we seek. We have within us all the peace and knowledge and love and Consciousness that we seek outside of ourselves. And all we have to do, if there is anything to do, is quiet the mental chatter and incessant thinking and open our eyes to the present moment—to all of the beautiful, exquisite, miraculous ways that the Divine is communicating with us.
Blessings
Tara Zafft, Ph.D. 