Present In The Process
The most honest answer we could give another when asked about our state of being or what it is we are doing in life, is “I am in process,” for that is the only place we could be. From one moment to the next, we are constantly shifting and changing as energetic beings. Nothing about our existence is static or still. For example, you are not the same person you were when you read the first words of this post. You are different, you are changed, because moment-to-moment you evolve. Sometimes that knowledge alone can create a sense of relief from the pressures of the world, knowing that we too are part of its ephemeral flare.
Exploring life’s transitory nature is the art of observing the process in each moment. It is being so engrossed in the unfolding that one disregards any desire for the future or any worry of the past. For athletes this is sometimes referred to as, “In The Zone” or “In The Flow,” but it is not just athletes who are privy to this level of centered presence. It is available to all beings and if you reflect you can probably recall a time (or times) when you have been so enraptured in a moment that nothing else mattered, creating a trance-like state without the use of any outside drug or stimulant.
The process is the process and there is no concern for starting or stopping. It just IS. There is no such thing as the perfect time to begin or end. Process is the ebb and flow of water, with its peaks and hollows, while maintaining its overall ease of motion and movement. The river is never concerned when it will reach the ocean and the ocean is never concerned when it will reach the shore, why should we?
All the answers to life’s problems and frustrations are held within in the process. You see, you are living the answer in your daily existence on earth. And if you want to go deeper than that, you are living the answer because you are IT, the answer incarnate. Yet, although we may intrinsically know this, we still sometimes enjoy pretending we aren’t IT, leaving us searching and searching for what is already within us, if we would only become present to the process and our role in it.
As we welcome the second month of the year, we reflect on the changes we were committed to making January 1. Have we committed to the process or a specific outcome? Are we willing to integrate our changes on a deeper level so they become part of our being and not just something we tried to stop and start? Do we have the courage to lay all goals aside and just feel the moment at hand, trusting that we know what changes to implement moment-to-moment in order to express and care for our higher self? No matter the program we have been attempting to follow or the outcome we have been reaching for, what is important is to come back to the integration of our intention and dedicate our awareness to the process we are living, because from there that is when our choices and manner of living begin to flow effortlessly like water.
There is a beautiful exchange in the animated movie, Kung Fu Panda, when Panda laments over his initial training as Dragon Warrior. He feels like an absolute failure, especially in comparison to the The Furious Five. He complains and compares; compares and complains. Sound familiar? He is even caught by his master, Oogway, as he attempts to soothe his frustration with food. But like any good master, Oogway watches as his student judges the present moment, careful not to interfere with Panda’s process, as he listens and ironically agrees with Panda’s complaints, allowing the teaching moment to unfold, waiting for the moment to welcome his student into the present, to share the following gift:
“You are too concerned about what was and what will be. There is a saying: yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the “present.””
The present, the gift, is in the process. It is in the unfolding of each moment. It is nice to have a teacher lead us there but we do not have to have one. Oogway of Kung Fu Panda, Yoda of Star Wars, and Socrates of The Peaceful Warrior, all have something in common, they are already within you. They are not sages outside of us on the big screen but abide in the heart of every man and woman. They merely take shape on movie screens, as the wise characters we enjoy watching, only to mirror our truth back to us. They do not tell us something that we do not already know; their role is to remind us and to awaken The Force, Dragon Warrior, and/or Peaceful Warrior within us.
Today, as time marches on, let us be present to the gift that is given to us in the moment at hand, for the means of the process is not to arrive at a certain location but rather to walk and observe the miracles that lie within us. We do not have to try to change ourselves or to evolve. This happens without our effort. Recall, we are always in process. But what we can do is become present to the process in which we are involved and become aware of how we choose to participate in it, choosing to do so in a loving and healthy way, making the actions we take sure to be in alignment with our highest intention. Namaste.