Letter: March 2010

One theme upon which we have touched over and over is to fully invest our hearts and minds in the present. We often think the past is important because we learn from looking back. Yes, indeed we do but the lessons are only useful to apply in the present. If we wish to plan we must think of the future, however, we have little hope of success if our current activities are not dedicated to our goals. We are alive to experience life, to be us in the best possible way we can. The imperative here is to be, not to have been, nor to become. Lessons of the past, like dreams of the future, are but guidelines to be used in the present. If we do not relish the moment we have little hope of a rewarding experience. Life is a succession of experiences and it is in the doing we can make them joys or sorrows. 

The quality in life cannot be measured by volume but by devotion. Volume alone is meaningless in terms of a life well lived, while a devotion to excellence will delight an aspiring soul. Such dedication may offer us the possibility of real fulfillment. When we rush, when we do more than one thing at one time, when we perform one activity while preoccupied with another, we forsake any chance of achieving excellence. Under such conditions we surrender the possibility of experiencing the richness of the moment. There are no activities in life that should be undertaken to merely complete but to experience, to do, and to do well. If inattention to quality is part of our activity we can be assured that mediocrity will result. 

Life is an experience it is not a race. Let us think for a moment, would we have our activities the center of our lives or backdrop for something else? We awoke this morning to experience this day, where else are we going? Our devotion can rise from our activities, like a magnificent perfume, before the angels that minister to us always. If our motive is to experience the day in excellence our activities will be so guided. We must be clear what excellence means to each of us, then to devote ourselves to its expression. This requires persistence because we may not be accustomed to dedicating ourselves to the moment. If we are so motivated, we will not feel failure when we forget, nor defeated when our attention wanders, but we will welcome each and every opportunity to live fully in the moment. To live our lives in constant regret of things past or in anxiety over the future is to impoverish our soul. What we forgot is passed, what we will remember is future, and what we do is now. 

Let us not be overcome by regrets or anxiety but let us each be devoted to the moment. Here is where we live; here is the only place we have any hope of achieving excellence, and to be here is why we find ourselves in flesh and bone today. 

May God bless you with the incredible joy of being alive in this world this day.