Three Words to Unlock the Cheerfulness of the Present Moment

Copyright 2006 Tom Russell

Has a ray of happiness ever reached you at an unexpected moment? Haven’t you longed for these rays to break through more often, and with greater intensity?

The present moment can be compared to an island in the middle of the sea. It appears to be isolated but beneath the surface the island is one with the entire globe. Like the island, you appear to be separate from the whole of life; however, at a deeper level you are one with God/Truth/Reality and no storm has the power to disturb this connection.

Awareness is a secret known for countless centuries. It is like the letter that was well concealed by placing it out in the open in the center of the table. Its beautiful simplicity often caused it to be overlooked and unappreciated. For example:

* “The Buddha was asked, ‘What do you and your disciples practice?’ He replied, ‘We sit, we walk and we eat.’ The questioner continued, ‘But sir, everyone sits, walks and eats.’ The Buddha told him, ‘When we sit, we know we are sitting. When we walk, we know we are walking. When we eat, we know we are eating.’”

* P.D. Ouspensky, author of In Search of the Miraculous writes:

“Trying to remember yourself is always right. Whatever you are doing, just try to realize that you are doing that. Effort to remember yourself is the chief thing, because without it nothing else has any value; it must be the basis of everything. Only in this way can you pass from the mechanical to a more conscious state.”

Awareness flourishes when you remember what a deeper part of you already knows, and does so in all kinds of circumstances and events, both pleasurable and challenging, simple and complex.

There are three simple words you can use to unlock the cheerfulness of the present moment. They are: “I am Here.” These three words instantly release you from rambling thinking and return you to the pleasantness of the present moment. They can be used many times a day, either silently or audibly, to teach the mind the supreme value of now.

Voice the words “I am Here” and let them remind you to notice as much about your environment as possible, including colors, the breeze, your posture, your voice, the room and the objects, the car you’re driving and the passing scene. Awaken to the subtle! No other place is richer than now.

“I am here” unlocks the power to keep your mind where your body is. Your body is always in the present moment, so why not join it? This is a classic tool for growth taught by history’s greatest teachers, including moderns like Vernon Howard, J. Krishnamurti and Idries Shah.

It is nothing short of amazing how much “I am here” opens you to the cheerful breeze that circulates through NOW. There is no force or hard effort in these words, just simple recognition. The wise increasingly understand, “Now is happiness -- now is intelligence – now is where I really want to be.”