There was a time I was between here and there. Now I find myself between here and here.
I came across the above line in my journal recently and was reminded just how easy it is to move away from the present moment. I have recently removed a lot of “activity” from my schedule and it now has space for walking, watching sunsets, meditating, writing, and sitting. It’s amazing how busy we can convince ourselves to be!
As Thich Nhat Hanh says in his writing, I Have Arrived, I Am Home:
“I have arrived” is our practice. When we breathe in, we take refuge in our in-breath, and we say, “I have arrived.” When we take a step, we take refuge in our step, and we say, “I am home.” This is not a statement to yourself or another person. “I have arrived, I am home” means I have stopped running; I have arrived in the present moment contains life. When I breathe in and take refuge in my in-breath, I touch life deeply. When I take a step and I take refuge entirely in my step, I also touch life deeply, and by doing so I stop running.
Stop running is a very important practice. We have all been running all of our lives. We believe that peace, happiness, and success are present in some other place and time. We don’t know that everything—peace, happiness, and stability—should be looked for in the here and the now. This is the address of life—the intersection of here and now.
Thich Nhat Hanh reminds me of the gift of the present moment. I have stopped running and I have arrived. For me, being here is being home.
Welcome home.
