Be Here Now.

Be here now.

I whisper these words often to myself, especially when I am losing interest in what I am doing.

Usually it’s on the elliptical or during yoga. Inevitably, I find myself negotiating the ways I can cut short the experience without losing the benefits.

I want the benefits of the elliptical – inches and pounds and confidence – but I don’t want to do it anymore. Maybe I can do twenty minutes instead of thirty.

I want the benefits of yoga – the presence, peace, meditation, stretch in my muscles, cleansing breaths – but I don’t want to sit still any longer. Maybe I can do fifteen minutes instead of thirty.

When I start these negotiations, I know it’s only a matter of time before my mind will win and I’ll give up, jump ship, move onto something with faster results.

Stop arguing with yourself, T. It’s wasted energy. Just be here now. You won’t always be here, this we know. Just be here now.

I want to post it at my kitchen table, the place where my family meets most often in passing, at the beginning and end of the day. We are making a quick stop to refuel before we head to the next thing. But I want us to Be Here Now.

Barbara Brown Taylor says she doesn’t like the metaphor of a “journey.” So many of us use that word picture, especially for our spirituality, but it implies destination. It implies the need to arrive. It implies forward motion, intent on the next thing.

She says she’s much more interested in the walk. The companionship. The scenery. The conversation.

She says that is the problem with the call to a life of greatness: It takes you out of this ordinary moment that could really grand if only you brought your whole self to it.

Be here now.

Wherever you are today –
In work you love,
In a job you hate,
In a conversation that’s boring,
In presence that’s inspiring,
In the season you’ve waited for,
Or the one you’re ready to finish-
Take a deep breath.

Be here now.

And when all else fails, turn on a podcast while you wait to be done with this.  Especially on the elliptical.