I was regretting the past 
And fearing the future. 
Suddenly my Lord was speaking:

“My name is I Am.” He paused. 
I waited. He continued,
When you live in the past 
With its mistakes and regrets, 
It is hard. I am not there, 
My name is not I WAS”.

When you live in the future 
With its problems and fears, 
It is hard. I am not there. 
My name is not I WILL BE.

When you live in this moment, 
It is not hard. I am here. 
My name is I AM. 

~ By Helen Mallicoat

Do you ever feel as though the universe is trying to get your attention? Perhaps through a conversation with a friend, or when listening to a podcast, reading or watching a film.

 I believe that God, the energy of Love or the Holy Spirit does speak to us through various means as an answer to a prayer.

My mind can race around the track a thousand times. What an athlete I have become! Yet this kind of sprinting does not provide a healthy perspective. Change, stress and peddling faster to experience some semblance of control only gets us further from any peace of mind, until we get off the track.

Sometimes when I awfulize, worry and fret about a problem that I hope to solve, my mind whirls… until I stop to look around and ask myself, “What is happening in this very moment? Hmmn… filtered sunlight is shining through the living room window, shadows dance on the floor, wind chimes are tinkling in the distance, yet I had not even noticed.  It is a great reality check that helps me to re-calibrate…

Well, throughout this particularly poignant life transition the universe’s message has been clear; be here now and I heard this several times in various ways this past week.

As I recognize my powerlessness to control my little universe, I sigh with compassion.

My generation may recall the book, “Be Here Now” by the spiritual seeker, Ram Dass.  I have a very old copy that I pulled from the book shelf. Here is a little excerpt.

 “The more conscious that a being becomes, the more he can use any occupation as a vehicle for spreading light. The next true being of Buddha-nature that you meet may appear as a bus driver, a doctor, a weaver, an insurance salesman, a musician, a chef, a teacher, or any of the thousands of roles that are required in a complex society—the many parts of Christ’s body. You will know him because the simple dance that may transpire between you—such as handing him change as you board the bus—will strengthen in you the faith in the divinity of man. It’s as simple as that.”

Liz Sorensen Wessel

Photo of my grandson, Cyrus