Stream of consciousness from Reverend John A. Strickland
Now is the only time there is. Yesterday is over. Tomorrow is not yet here.
Some wise person has said, "God is not in yesterday or tomorrow. God is only in today."
We need to learn from yesterday, but not live in the past. It is easier said than done.
Worrying about the future does not make the future better. It only robs us of the power and pleasure of the present.
Sometimes people carry hurts from the past. We need to let the past go. Otherwise past hurts continue to hurt us now. It is our choice as to whether or not to hold onto the hurts.
Some people remember "the good old days" and continuously re-live past glories. Such behavior and mindsets will prevent us from having good days now. By the way, if one truly investigates "the good old days" one will find that they really were not that good at all.
Re-living pleasant of painful memories from the past keeps us away from the power of the present. Anticipating happy or unhappy future events robs us of the joy of now.
Living in the now does not mean that we should not plan. Yes, we should plan. It has often been said, "If we fail to plan, we are planning to fail." Do the planning but keep the energy in the now. It takes effort to do so, but it is well worth it.
As I take time every day to be still, to breathe deeply, to consciously relax my body, I find it easy to live in the now moment.
God can only do for me what God can do through me. I must open myself to the wisdom of God. God can only bless me now.
Some people hold onto the past by refusing to forgive others. Forgiveness frees others and ourselves to live fully in the now. Forgiving does not mean that the other has not committed something wrong and should suffer no consequences. It does mean that we have released the other and ourselves. We let go of the need to be judge and jury.
There is nothing that I have done that has made God love me less and there is nothing that I could do that could make God love me more. I am beloved of God right here, right now, just the way I am.
When I choose to forgive, love and accept myself just the way I am, here and now, then and only then can I become better.
I am not my body. I have a body. But the real of me is whole, beautiful and eternal now. When I realize this, I can stop worrying so much.
God is a benevolent God who creates (and is still creating) a world of abundance. By aligning my thoughts and feelings with God now, I find that my personal universe is abundantly good now. There is enough good for everyone.
I choose the thoughts I hold. I choose peace now.
I choose the feelings I hold because my habitual thoughts produce those feelings. If I don't like what I am feeling, then I simply change my thoughts about myself, about others, about life now. Try it. It really works.
I choose to live in the now, every day for 21 days. In so doing, I create a new and wonderful habit. My life changes according to my now thinking.
Some think that the past is the best predictor of the future. I suspect that is true in a general sense. But the world has known great people who changed their now thoughts ad created a far different future. The past is not a creator of the future, only a predictor. I co-create my future now, by thinking God thoughts.
The past was never as good or as bad as I thought of it. The future is never as scary or beautiful as I have anticipated. But the now is as fabulous as it can be, when I live in it, relish it, treasure it, give thanks for it.
Here is a great now idea: Drop your judgments. I have a friend who has done so. She does not have advanced degrees, hold a high position or have great wealth, but she possesses the ability to drop her judgments and live in the now. She is happy. When something happens to her that I might be tempted to label "good" or "bad", she reminds me, "It is not good or bad. It just is." When you can look at what happens to you in the now and stop judging and say, "It just is," you will have learned how to master your life in the now.
There once was a man who had no degree or special training. Yet he rented and office and put out a shingle with these words on it, "The Listening Ear". People made appointments and paid him money to just listen now. He didn't give advice. He didn't judge. He just listened—now! Listening now is a great gift we can give our family, friends or anyone. Listen actively, intently without judging now.
Most of us need reminders to live in the now. The reminder could be a rubber band, a wrist watch, a sigh on your desk or a random computer program that pops up to reminds you to live in the now.
A Wise person said, "You cannot keep the birds from flying through your hair, but you can keep them from making a nest there." Likewise, you can't keep thoughts from flowing through your mind, but you can keep them from making a nest there. Keep the thoughts you like, love them, nurture them, let them roll around in your head. Let the other ones go.
"Love God, and love your neighbor as yourself,"- now that's a good code by which to live. Add the word "now" at the end and you have got yourself a super-charged life!
Here's the now that I want: Think positive, think God thoughts, do not judge, do forgive, do love, do remember "It's not good or bad, it just is," do choose to be happy now! There is no other time.
