The Present Moment

This is a picture that I sketched a few years ago when the kids were really into drawing and we would draw together....I guess that I am including it here because there is a picture of the old court house in the background....and the bells from the old courthouse are what I am about to write about. :)

Last summer...like late August (I think), an old school friend of mine named Brian Carpenter posted on his facebook status that he and his wife, Sharon, were sitting on their porch listening to the 6 o'clock bells ring @ St. Francis Church and then to the bells ring @ the old courthouse uptown. Other people replied to the post like Chris Simpson and stated how much they missed hearing those bells and how long it had been since they had heard those bells....for Chris, it was over 20 some years....I think.

Well, that post really made me think about how I am totally mindLESS about things in my life.
It really made me aware of how "unconscious" I am in my normal daily life.
At that moment, It occurred to me that I could not remember one single moment when I last heard those bells in the past 11 years that I have been living here......it made me realize that I need more silence in my life.

Ever since that post, I have been taking more and more walks without my ipod....I still listen to it some but have tried to just be present to what is now on my walks. I found that I enjoy my walks now because "I am here now" and I notice more in nature.
(like yesterday, I spotted a chipmunk munching on a nut or the other day I enjoyed the sound of leaves crunching under my feet like I used to do when I was a child.......and 2 weeks ago, I enjoyed the cheers from a distant soccer game while enthusiastic fans cheered on their team.) For some reason, the smells of fall that I remember as a child have been more apparent during my walks too. During those times, I feel very connected to nature.

For some of that time, my world slows down....as I am struggling to make sense of all this mess that I am in, the "being here now" seems to calm my fears...and I find that I can deal with what is just here at this moment.....and I can realize that my other darting fears ...are just thoughts and aren't really going to happen...they are just taking up my precious time.

and what I am most proud to say is ......I now too hear those bells from the courthouse and from St. Francis church when they sound.......and they are a gift for me to enjoy.
I hope you like the quote below.
Namaste,
Michele

Realize deeply that the present moment is all you ever have.

-Eckhart Tolle