The Elusive Present

"The present moment is thus not limited from one point on the clock to another. It is always 'pregnant,' always ready to open, to give birth. One has only to try the experiment of looking deeply within himself, let us say, trailing almost any random idea, and he will find, so rich is a moment of consciousness in the human mind, that associations and new ideas beckon in every direction. Or take a dream--it occurred in just one flash of consciousness as the alarm went off, yet it might take many minutes for you to tell all it pictured...Time for the human being is not a corridor; it is a continual opening out."

--Rollo May, Man's Search for Himself

Depression often makes it very difficult to remain grounded in the present moment. Instead, our ever-chattering, ever-suffering minds roam back and forth, from the past to the future and back, over and over again, like a hyperactive pendulum.

Sadly, in so doing, we miss the healing potential of the present moment.

The key, as I've come to realize--both through reading and via personal experience--is to bring the past and the future into the present.

The best way to do so is through meditation.

Bring yourself to a state of meditative awareness (in whichever way works for you)...and FEEL the past and the future. Feel them as richly as your can here, now.

Feel your yearning for an idealized distant past--or the pain of a past that you wish you could alter.

Feel your anxieties, hopes, fears, dreams of the future.

Feel both in the here and now, as fully as possible.

After a while, both the past and the future become a part of your present moment--and your mind no longer feels the need to roam. It can stay in the center of your being and, from there, survey the eternal landscape in every direction.

Healing can occur only in the present moment. So seize it fully, and be well.