I got this email after a night of tossing and turning, wrestling with my mind, attempting to think nothing, or at least nothing that had worry attached to it. It is a great reminder that living in the future, even for a second, robs us of the present moment.
You Reading This, Be Ready Starting here, what do you want to remember?
How sunlight creeps along a shining floor?
What scent of old wood hovers, what softenedsound from outside fills the air?
Will you ever bring a better gift for the world than the breathing respect that you carry wherever you go right now?
Are you waiting for time to show you some better thoughts?
When you turn around, starting here, lift this new glimpse that you found; carry into evening all that you want from this day.
This interval you spent reading or hearing this, keep it for life -
What can anyone give you greater than now, starting here, right in this room, when you turn around?
~ William Stafford ~
(The Way It Is)
Web version: www.panhala.net/Archive/Be_Ready.html
