True Presence


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At least once every month, I drive 70 miles and spend a day in the woods.  Why drive so far?  70 miles each way requires a full day.  And it gives me time to play loud music and think.  Reflect on life.  Be with me!

When I get to the woods, I usually take a walk and make a fire.  Some days I do ceremony.  

The fire feels good.  A little warmth to complement the fresh Fall air.  As I sit in the woods by my fire, I imagine this place 200 years ago.  My mind drifts to an elder whom we called, Unci (oon-che), which means 'Grandma' in Lakota.  Grandma taught us A LOT about prayer and life.

A serenity envelopes me.  I'm by myself, but hardly alone.  Bear Creek gurgles a few feet away.  Honking geese make their way south.  My nearby fire crackles and pops.  

I smile.

When I'm in the woods, I slow way down.  I sink into the joy of doing simple tasks.  I open my senses and try to notice EVERYTHING at one time.  

• How the air blows through the trees.  
• The mushy feel because my right boot leaked a little bit
• How a particular log is beautifully consumed over two hours in the fire   

All these little things are wondrous to notice if I get OUT of my brain and into my heart.  No longer going through the motions, but co-creating WITH the beauty all around.  Today is different than ANY time before.

I suppose this is what True Presence is all about.

Last week someone asked me what it meant to be Fearless.  Is it being Courageous?  Perhaps the opposite of fear is having Faith.  The more I think about it, though, Fear is tied to Time.  With no past nor future, fear evaporates.  

Maybe True Presence is what it means to be Fearless.  

There are moments in my life when I've experienced True Presence.  Everything is stripped away.  Just Spirit and me.  Not a shred of fear to taint the moment.  Just Beauty and Serenity.

The divisiveness we experience in our world today is rooted in fear.  Fear of uncertainty.  Fear of the unknown.  Fear of nameless people and organizations taking away freedom.  Fear of anything different than me!  Fear dissipates when we live into True Presence.  

In these special moments of True Presence, time elongates.  Stretches.  Each moment is perfectly placed.  No rush to get away from the past.  No hurry to get to the future.  

Just BE ... in … this … moment.  

True Presence is exactly what we need to heal our humanity.  

Give it a try.  Right now.  Take just a single moment.  

Feel Beauty and Serenity settle in?

If you're feeling REALLY BOLD, go for two moments!

Peace and True Presence to you, my friend!