I just finished reading my new favorite book, The Power of Now, written by Eckhart Tolle. This is not a review, but merely my reflection; however, f you are a human being, and you will read any one book in your lifetime, I highly recommend this book because for the first time, I have not enough words to write to fully express the depth of this New York Times best-seller and life changing read. However, I did have a moment of clarity when everything I had been reading for the past few weeks “clicked”, and that I am more than happy to share.
A couple of days ago my sister, having gotten frustrated by a situation at home, insisted upon leaving to go to her friends house. She was convinced, as she is often, that she would feel better by removing herself from the situation. Some feel that waiting, letting time pass, will eventually resolve inner conflict, while others desperately desire to change past events because they believe that their current problems would not exist without those.
Admittedly, these are all very good coping mechanisms in terms of professional counseling and psychological research. But in terms of personal and spiritual enlightenment, these are very temporary, short-term solutions, and the opposite of the direction towards which there is peace. Clarity is not in some other location, in some distant time in the future, as a result of any past situations that must be avoided or changed. The peace that every human being is after is already within each person RIGHT NOW.
According to Tolle, everything in the universe is exactly as it is meant to be, and to resist that is to suffer. Inner resistance to an outward situation inevitably leads to mental judgement and emotional negativity. Therefore, the key to reducing active struggle and attaining long-term peace, is surrender. It is acceptance of each exact moment the way it is, without judgment. It is to simply BE, as you truly are beyond your physical form, and observe each moment- your thoughts, the emotions they create, the actions they lead to, the physical situation surrounding you…all whilst remaining in peace with your self and without resistance to what is.
This journey has helped me immensely in becoming more patient, no longer in a rush to get to the next moment having found peace in the Now. It has made me more positive, because after full acceptance of a seemingly negative situation that is out of my control, I am free to explore the endless positives. It has helped me find more compassion because I am able to give my total undivided attention to listening to others and connecting with them on a deeper level. It has helped me to rekindle my more curious and playful nature now that I realize that the “I” I have spent the past decade discovering is only applicable to my outward “life” and what really matters is the “AM” and simply being, here, now. That is the Power of Now.
“You get there by realizing you are already there” -Eckhart Tolle
