Life. Here and Now

Are you aware?

For your life to be exactly as it is right now, 13.8 billion years have passed since the "big bang", where everything originated from a single source.

Since then, countless changes in substances, forms, and sequences of events have finally brought you about and the world you perceive into existence.

Everything that has occurred throughout this process—galaxies, stars, planets, and the emergence of life upon them, even the tiniest movements of these life forms—had the slightest difference existed in their formation, it would have led to a completely different course of events. Your present reality would not exist. Perhaps both you and I wouldn't exist, and the chain of events that allows you to read these lines would never have unfolded.

With this introduction, we can conclude that everything in your life, all processes that have occurred before and during your life, everything in your past and what's happening right now, everything you perceive and don't perceive—it's all exactly as it should be, right here and now. No more or less.

All the objects you see around you, all the entities, all forms, living and non-living beings—they are at the same age as the universe itself. They've taken countless different forms to eventually reach their current form.

The ground you stand on, the objects and entities on that ground, the clothes you wear, and essentially you—each particle of you—were once all "one" with this entirety. The process that allows you to manifest in different forms, to exist in different bodies and perceive yourself and everything around you as a (supposedly) "distinct" identity, took billions of years and a series of countless events. But at your core, you are still "one" with all that existence.

Strive to maintain this awareness at every moment of your life.

Be conscious that every living and non-living object you can perceive, see, touch, hear, smell—they are all actually one with you in your essence. The reason they are perceived as separate entities is due to the passage of time, your limited perception operating at the material level, and your mind. Maintain the awareness that all these are built upon your ego, which is separate from your true self.

Realize that all these entities are here so that you can truly perceive and experience them, right here and now. Because within all this existence, you are the sole entity that has the awareness of "being" present. Just as existence is dependent on you, you also depend on existence.

Therefore, instead of reducing them to means to en end that will supposedly take you to a version of yourself that is "more yourself", "happier", "more satisfied" when you reach your goals, be aware of the beauty of each moment and everything that creates this beauty.

For instance, when you walk somewhere, become aware of each step you take rather than focusing on the "extremely important" tasks you will perform or the results that reaching that destination will bring about. Let the joy of being able to take that step and perceiving it fill you with happiness. Fill yourself with gratitude and love for everything that enables you to take that step—the body, the muscles that move it, the energy from the food, each particle that comprises it, the clothes you wear, the shoes, the air you breathe, everything you see around you, and everything that makes that moment possible and is essentially one with you. Recognise that when you look at them, you're essentially looking at yourself. Let the focus of your life be the step you're taking, not the destination it leads to.

Because in reality, there's no guarantee taking a step towards the destination you want to go or anything else you can do in your life will ultimately lead you to a better place than where you are right now. You might act under the assumption that doing something will lead to positive outcomes for you but one day you’ll realise that: “wherever you go, there you are”.

What you once pursued, the job or position you dreamed of, might eventually become your biggest source of stress. Those whom you once thought you "loved" so much that you couldn't live without might become the biggest source of unhappiness in your life. You have no control over your life and nothing you desire can give you the ultimate fulfilment in life.

So surrender; let go of your ego’s futile pursuit of trying to control everything in your life. Let go of worrying about them, obsessing over them, and resisting the present and what is. Realise that you don't even have the conscious control over how your body moves, your heart beats, your thoughts flow, or how your breath comes and goes. Notice that even in the simplest action, like moving a finger, you don't have conscious control over the creation that takes place between intention and the actual movement. Even if you're the one with the intention, you're not the one who’s "doing" it. You only have control over how you perceive everything in your life and your internal state towards them, nothing more.

Hold deep trust and gratitude towards the force that desires life to be as it is. The force that grants you the pleasure of existence and self-awareness. The force that allows everything to be exactly as it is, right here and now. Because just as all existence is one, you are not separate from the entirety. Within your essence, you are also one with it.

Realize: As long as we are "one," no matter what form it takes, the most beautiful moment is now.

Life is not anywhere else or at any other time.

It’s here, and now.