Be Here Now
Article by Tom Gilbert · © Living the Solution
Be here now. It sounds so easy. Nevertheless, we are rarely in the now. It just may be the hardest thing to do. How can we be present in the present?
The human mind is remarkable. The sophistication and the capacity are incredible. No one uses more than a fraction of his actual brainpower. Despite that we often have racing minds. Our thoughts come at us in rapid succession. One of the challenges of being in the present is that we are thinking so much and often about the past or the future.
In order to stay in the present and focused on what is happening right here, right now we must calm our minds. Psalm 46:10 tells us how. "Be still and know that I am God". This not only has a soothing effect on our hectic brains, it is also essential advice. God is revealing himself to us in the quiet stillness.
As a rule many of us are over stimulated. The trend in society is on speed. We must have everything on demand. This is bad teaching. When we begin to expect things immediately we not only are setup for disappointment, we are also not patient enough to wait for God's goodness to be revealed.
We can take a lesson from the natural law of the harvest. The soil must be prepared, the seed is planted, the crop is nurtured and finally it is harvested. This is a process that cannot be rushed. Why do we think our personal growth should be any different?
Get Busy…Get Out Of Self
What is really effective to "now" living is to get out of our self-centeredness and get busy doing for others. Isolation is a trap that lays waiting for us with the bait of worry, anxiety, fear and desire. This is not the same as sitting quietly waiting on the Lord's still small voice. There is a clear difference between quiet personal time, alone with God and the separation from others. Your "alone" time with God is to grow closer in your personal relationship with your heavenly Father. Isolation is escapism.
I know that if I sit alone in quiet meditation after reading the Word and other uplifting Christian writing I can feel very peaceful. I begin to sense that everything is connected and all right. Yet, I cannot stay there. As Philip Yancey says in Reaching for the Invisible God, "the Christian life is not meant to be lived by a person sitting alone all day thinking about the Christian life."
True faith is characterized by action. Being present and accounted for and laboring in the vineyard is an important aspect of Christian living.
Tom Gilbert is a writer and spiritual seeker who edits and maintains the Living the Solution web site. You may reprint this article as long as you give credit and a link back to www.livingthesolution.com
Be here now. It sounds so easy. Nevertheless, we are rarely in the now. It just may be the hardest thing to do. How can we be present in the present?
The human mind is remarkable. The sophistication and the capacity are incredible. No one uses more than a fraction of his actual brainpower. Despite that we often have racing minds. Our thoughts come at us in rapid succession. One of the challenges of being in the present is that we are thinking so much and often about the past or the future.
In order to stay in the present and focused on what is happening right here, right now we must calm our minds. Psalm 46:10 tells us how. "Be still and know that I am God". This not only has a soothing effect on our hectic brains, it is also essential advice. God is revealing himself to us in the quiet stillness.
As a rule many of us are over stimulated. The trend in society is on speed. We must have everything on demand. This is bad teaching. When we begin to expect things immediately we not only are setup for disappointment, we are also not patient enough to wait for God's goodness to be revealed.
We can take a lesson from the natural law of the harvest. The soil must be prepared, the seed is planted, the crop is nurtured and finally it is harvested. This is a process that cannot be rushed. Why do we think our personal growth should be any different?
Get Busy…Get Out Of Self
What is really effective to "now" living is to get out of our self-centeredness and get busy doing for others. Isolation is a trap that lays waiting for us with the bait of worry, anxiety, fear and desire. This is not the same as sitting quietly waiting on the Lord's still small voice. There is a clear difference between quiet personal time, alone with God and the separation from others. Your "alone" time with God is to grow closer in your personal relationship with your heavenly Father. Isolation is escapism.
I know that if I sit alone in quiet meditation after reading the Word and other uplifting Christian writing I can feel very peaceful. I begin to sense that everything is connected and all right. Yet, I cannot stay there. As Philip Yancey says in Reaching for the Invisible God, "the Christian life is not meant to be lived by a person sitting alone all day thinking about the Christian life."
True faith is characterized by action. Being present and accounted for and laboring in the vineyard is an important aspect of Christian living.
Tom Gilbert is a writer and spiritual seeker who edits and maintains the Living the Solution web site. You may reprint this article as long as you give credit and a link back to www.livingthesolution.com
Posted by Tom Gilbert at 2/9/2011 8:19 PM 
Categories: Inspiration
Tags: presence in the moment self centered contemplation
Categories: Inspiration
Tags: presence in the moment self centered contemplation
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