A Stress-Free Life

"Stress is caused by being 'here' but wanting to be 'there,' or being in the present but wanting to be in the future. It's a split that tears you apart inside. To create and live with such an inner split is insane."

Eckhart Tolle

You may have noticed that you can't ever be anywhere other than where you are; that the idea of a 'future' is an illusion. Though this is a very simple truth, the reality is that the mind (the voice in your head) is always trying (in vain) to get somewhere, anywhere other than where we are. In this mad attempt to deny the present moment and be in a place that we can never reach (the future), we create all of the anxiety and suffering that we experience in our lives. In this constant movement away from the Here and Now, we miss out on the simplicity and beauty of what is unfolding right in front of us.

After all, if you actually look at what is happening right now, what do you find? Stop for a moment and have a look around, and within you. Do you have a problem right now? Is there anything lacking? When we actually look deeply, what we may notice is that life is much simpler and easier than our mind believes it to, and how uncomplicated and friendly the present moment actually is. Everything is simply the way it is, and when we align ourselves with WHAT IS, and let go of trying to be somewhere else, life naturally becomes stress-free and joyful. This is the great 'open secret' in Zen practice, and why the 'present moment' is the focal point of almost everything a Zen Master teaches.

Very simply, when we are truly 'here' on this breath, we notice that there is nothing to fear or worry about. Only when we start to think about what might happen an hour from now or tomorrow, do we experience the anxiety that robs us of the innate and natural joy of being alive. When we let go of our insane attempts to be somewhere other than where we are, we actually begin to relax and open to the blessings that already fill our lives right now. We also begin to live without the fear and heaviness that used to be our 'normal' state. With anxiety gone, we can appreciate and respond to whatever is happening in front of us with clarity and kindness, and give up waiting for something better to happen in the future. A future that never comes...