Why is it that we find ourselves struggling and striving to prove ourselves in the eyes of others? Depriving ourselves of the momentary pleasures that pass us by each day. Fearful that if we take our foot off the accelerator then someone will pass us by and leave us in the dust. I have often pondered these thoughts and the only conclusion that I can come up with is the living in the absence of the now.
Today I turned 61 years old and like many that have experienced the winter solstice this many times round can find ourselves asking the question “What have I done with my life so far?” I believe that in here lies the problem; to measure one’s life by what we have done. Perhaps the better question to ask one’s self could be along the idea of “What have we learned about ourselves in relation to the world around us? Are we resisting and being part of the problem or are we evolving beyond ourselves to be part of the solution?” This is not an easy question to answer but in asking this very question, we give ourselves opportunity to discover the hidden things in our lives.
That which is hidden needs to be sought after if one is going to discover the truth behind the mystery. In Matthew 13 Jesus tells His disciples that to them it was granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. The apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 4 that we are to be stewards of the mysteries of God. Colossians 1 and 2 tells us of the mystery that has now been revealed and that mystery is Christ in us, and that mystery is Christ and all things that are, exist in Christ because He is all, is in all and He holds all things together.
Here is something that has been unfolding within me over the decades. The process of seeking truth is not an aggressive pursuit as in what I can do, instead I find it to be the result of a journey I embrace in allowing myself to experience beyond my understanding. Perhaps it could be better said in this way; to live in the awareness of the moment as it passes me by, to take time to feel the moment, smell the moment and yes even taste the moment. To allow myself to experience the moment of now. The Bible has many terms and references to this from “The Secret Place, to the Sabbath, to a new day called Today to Christ Himself.” Remember that God introduced Himself to Moses as “I Am” not “I Was” and not “I Will Be” but simply that I AM. This “I AM” signifies the now. In the heavenly realm there is no past and there is no future, there is only Now. This idea is confirmed in quantum science with the illusion of time.
In my life journey, I find that the more I allow myself to experience the moment of now, then the more of the hidden mysteries of Christ are revealed to me. Now they are not revealed as information but are revealed as reality. Remember that information is given, and reality is lived out. Reality is the byproduct of the journey, it is the result of lessons learned, it is what the scriptures refer to as knowledge.
It is this experiential knowledge that opens the door for us to see life through the eyes of another and even in the moment to experience the life of another. The moment of Now is all powerful, all seeing and all knowing; for the moment of Now is the Christ or as we may say “In Christ”. It is in Christ that we find all the promises of God and perhaps the lack of the promises being experienced lies in the unwillingness to slow down and experience the Now. Christ-ianity is not a religious movement we join or identify with, rather it is an intimate journey with the Christ Himself and that relationship can be easily missed in the daily pursuits of success and attainment of self-validation.
Could it be that we have been blinded to religious duty, to the external struggle of qualification through our actions, and the looking to others for their approval of our life? Could this be a result of our striving to be something, instead of slowing down and realizing that we are already everything right now, whether we feel it or not? Reality unfolds over time and we must invest time in the process if we truly desire to experience the Christ reality.
Take a moment, take a breath, let go and discover all that can be and perhaps in the process you just may discover something new about yourself. You may find out that 61 years old is just the beginning after all.
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