Restless

The Daily Om* hit me right between the eyes today. Well, it was more a gathering of circumstances that conspired to do so.

Firstly, I'm supposed to be on leave this week. Except that not everything is lined up for what needs to be accomplished, so that's been moved to next week and here I am at work.

Secondly - yes, the Daily Om.

And Thirdly, it's an absolutely beautifully stunning day outside today. The best weather we've had in ages! Seriously not the kind of day you want to spend indoors. It's very easy on days like this to do a Google Earth zoom on your life, scrolling from desk level out to the perspective of little ants busy at their little jobs in blocks of buildings, keeping an invisible wheel turning for an unseen master, hoping to claim their bit at the end of an alloted time period ... while Life goes by. (Yes, that sounds harsh, but it's how my mind works)

Then Forthly and beyond there's stuff churning in my head. Dreams and goals, passions that need time and attention. Ones I don't want to leave to the one-day and the maybe-when.

So I'm restless today. Tempted to chuck in the grind, to get up and walk out in favour of simply forging ahead to make things happen, to move in the direction my heart hankers for. Before I look up and find I've run out of time.

*

Why Not Now?
Waiting For Someday

The time we are blessed with is limited and tends to be used up all too quickly. How we utilize that time is consequently one of the most important decisions we make. Yet it is far too easy to put off until tomorrow what we are dreaming of today. The hectic pace of modern existence affords us an easy out; we shelve our aspirations so we can cope more effectively with the challenges of the present, ostensibly to have more time and leisure to realize our purpose in the future. Or we tell ourselves that we will chase our dreams someday once we have accomplished other lesser goals. In truth, it is our fear that keeps us from seeking fulfillment in the here and now—because we view failure as a possibility, our reasons for delaying our inevitable success seem sound and rational. If we ask ourselves what we are really waiting for, however, we discover that there is no truly compelling reason why we should put off the pursuit of the dreams that sustain us.

When regarded as a question, "Why not now?" drains us of our power to realize our ambitions. We are so concerned with the notion that we are somehow undeserving of happiness that we cannot see that there is much we can do in the present to begin courting it. Yet when we look decisively at our existence and state, "Why not now, indeed!" we are empowered to begin changing our lives this very moment. We procrastinate for many reasons, from a perceived lack of time to a legitimate lack of self-belief, but the truth of the matter is that there is no time like the present and no time but the present. Whatever we aim to accomplish, we will achieve it more quickly and with a greater degree of efficiency when we seize the day and make the most of the resources we have at our disposal presently.

All the joy, passion, and contentment you can envision can be yours right now, rather than in some far-flung point in time. You need only remind yourself that there is nothing standing between you and fulfillment. If you decide that today is the day you will take your destiny into your hands, you will soon discover that you hold the keys of fate.