What's Wrong With Right Now, Unless You Think About It?

"In Zen, there is no next."

Shunruy Suzuki

Before you read any further, take a moment to close your eyes and bring the title of this blog, as a question, to your mind.

'What's wrong with right now, unless I think about it'? Did you find anything 'wrong' with right now? If, by chance, you think you did find something wrong, then try this question; 'here and now, is anything lacking'? Look very deeply.

I was amazed that I couldn't find anything 'wrong' in my own life back in 1999, when I was first introduced to these questions. I was sure, in the moment right before asking them, that my life was full of problems and lacking many things that I thought I needed to be happy. Yet in the moment of really looking deeply, and following the questions within, I couldn't find anything missing, let alone 'wrong' with the moment I found myself in.

Twenty Five years later; after bringing these questions literally hundreds of times to the moment of my life, I have yet to find anything lacking in the Now, let alone a 'problem' to solve. Incredible, isn't it? Now, I'm not saying there hasn't been a challenge (or three) along the way; a flat tire here, a cancelled flight there (these are metaphors!), it's just that the TRUTH that these aren't 'problems' has deeply penetrated my thick skull to the point that life has become quite effortless in it's relentless unfolding in the most perfect way possible. The eternal moment is always leading me to exactly where I need to be; right here and now. Have you ever noticed that it's always right Now? That no matter how much you plan for the future or try and fix your past, you do it right Now?

There's an 'open secret' in the practice of Zen that, even though the Masters never talk about it out-loud, they point at it subtly through the questions they ask us. This secret is a key that opens the door to unending peace and ease in your life. I'll share this secret with you right now; are you ready? Here it is: not only has your entire life unfolded in the space called 'Now' (and will continue to unfold here eternally), but when you really have your attention right here on the spot, you are suddenly 'enlightened' to the Truth that there is absolutely never anything lacking right Now. Never. You wake up to the fact that, all your so-called 'problems' are created by thinking about a future that doesn't exist. If you doubt this, then close your eyes right now, and bring this question to your mind, 'What problem do I have right now'? Not next week when you have that meeting that you think is making you nervous, or next month at your family reunion (again, these are metaphors!), but right Here and Now? Can you find a problem Now? No? Welcome to heaven (and freedom), if you really want it.