Be here now

I wonder if you could be anywhere right now would you choose…..

It’s the Easter holidays and today schools were shutting for the next two weeks. For many people, they had plans of going away or doing something special – plans of meeting up with family and Easter egg hunts in the sunshine. However, that is not a reality for many of us right now.

My mother was meant to be flying in from Zimbabwe today, my girls hadn’t seen her for three years and we were looking forward to lots of cousin time nevertheless all those plans are all on hold.

I read this quote this week it was a short one, only three words and it has had me thinking all week long. It simply said

BE HERE NOW

Being present right now, what does that look like? The reality is that for a lot of us  the present is looking very challenging, unknown, and not at all easy and I don’t want to just glibly say “but be there”.

Jim Elliot, another great author, has this quote “Where you are be all there”.

In other words, embrace the season of life that is yours to have right now. Being all there is hard work and often not the easy option. It’s about feeling the emotions that are your reality, maybe the pain of the situation and then equally being present in that and looking for the moment of laughter. Being deliberate to create those times too to look beyond and knowing that the present won’t be forever.

We don’t know what the future holds but what we do know is that we have the now to live and be the best custodians of what’s before us. Life is too precious to just watch from the side-lines and be an observer.. be present and give it the best that you can.

“Worrying doesn’t take away tomorrow’s troubles, it takes away today’s peace” – Author unknown