Monday, December 26, 2011

Endings and Beginnings

What Matters Most……….Commentary by Jim High

Saturday will be the end of 2011.  But every ending is followed by a new beginning, and Sunday will be the beginning of 2012.  This, of course, happens every year as we celebrate New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.  Parties, champagne, food, football, and for most of us, resolutions will mark this day.  But actually these two days are just two points on the calendar of time.  Sometimes I think we make way too much of the passage of time, and way too little of the present moment in which we actually live.
Whether it’s today or tomorrow, this week or next week, or May turning into June, every ending is always followed by a new beginning.  There is really nothing special about New Year’s Day that we can’t have every day of our lives. 

And this also applies to our New Year’s Resolutions.  During the past few months I’ve lost just over 30 pounds.  If I had waited to make a New Year’s Resolution to lose some weight, I’d still be the same weight I was months ago, and actually I’d be putting off doing anything about it by turning my desire to lose weight into a New Year’s Resolution instead of into action in the present moment.
How many times have you made a New Year’s Resolution, waited until New Year’s Day or the day after to put it into action, and a week or a month later lapsed back into your old habits whatever they were?  Yes, we have all done that.  So when you decide to do something don’t put it off.  There is no magic in New Year’s Resolutions, in fact in my opinion, they are harmful.  The best time to do anything, change anything, start something new, or stop something is the instant you decide to do it. 
And don’t worry about all that planning you think is necessary before you start in the direction of your goal.  You can make adjustments as you go along.  Planning can and does get in the way of action a lot of the time.  You just have to know what you want as the end result, not every step of the way planned out before you start.  In fact, keeping the end result in mind, not your plan, is the most helpful way to actually attain your end result.  Starting is what works, and planning to start is not starting.
Think of it this way.  Nothing is happening in the past, whether that past was just yesterday, last month, or years ago.  The past has already happened and we can never change it, but we can improve ourselves and our surroundings for today only in this present moment.  And nothing is happening tomorrow either, because tomorrow is not here yet.  What we have is today, and even today is divided up into a lot of small present moments.
I’m not saying forget the past or don’t plan for the future.  Both of those things are important.  But much more important is to learn how to live in the present moment.  So how do we do this?  We need to be aware of what is.  Sounds simple, maybe even a little confusing until you give it some thought.  Understanding reality is what I mean by the term “what is,” and that requires some thinking on your part.  Deal with reality, with what is happening now, with what is, and you will begin to live in awareness of the present moment.  And the present moment, when you really think about it, is the only time and place you can actually do anything.
So right now, this present moment, as you are reading this column is the time to decide to act.  You can start whatever it is that you need to start.  Use your New Year’s Resolutions to make adjustments in the actions that you have already started.  And remember that every day can be a new beginning.  Just as there is no magic in New Year’s Day, there is no magic in Monday, or next week, or tomorrow.  The magic is right now in the present moment.
What Matters Most……..Everything in your life – the state of your body, your health, your livelihood, your home, the present condition of every phase of your life – is conditioned by what you have done in the past.  But the condition of all these things can be improved tomorrow, next week or next year by the thoughts, feeling and actions you decide to make in this present moment.  In other words, you choose your life.
© 2011 #26  Jim High can be reached at P. O. Box 467, Tupelo, MS 38802-0467