Live Simply 2020: April Mantra

April 1, 2020

There is never a perfect moment. The world is never without strife. The universe is never devoid of suffering. Lately, it’s felt as if there is more hardship and anguish than normal. Communities are united in collective grief, with fear gripping the globe.

Yet we are no less in charge of what we choose to focus on, and no lesser equipped to keep perspective. Now, more than ever, we must consciously channel positivity and hope. We must challenge ourselves to recognize the utopia that is this moment.

There is no later paradise. There is no future glory day. Not because it doesn’t or couldn’t exist, but because it doesn’t matter yet. The paradise is in the present.

Despite the uncertainty, and despite the spikes in anxiety, and despite the frustration of not being able to put to use one’s purpose in a satisfactory way, there is still nothing more miraculous than this: we are here now.

This knotty, new day–a singular phenomenon. This cup of coffee on the counter. The filtered water used to make it. The symphony of birds who always, always return. The tulips blooming, unbothered. Nature blooming in her perfect time, unconcerned.

The wild world rages on. Today it’s this and tomorrow it will be that, and we can’t predict what will happen. We can’t know for sure how the world will be changed, or how we’ll need to change to survive. We can try to prophesize. We can attempt to safeguard ourselves by stockpiling household supplies.

But we must take care not to postpone happiness and peace until some later date when “this has all blown over.”

This is it. Exquisite as it is boring. Potential-filled as it is paralyzing. Fear and hope are in neighbor breaths, and paradise is in between.

 

6 Comments

  1. Karen Spiegel Frank on April 1, 2020 at 4:38 pm

    You sound much like a very old wise soul!

    One day at a time.
    Let us wake up with a prayer of gratitude and fall asleep with a prayer of gratitude on our lips and in our hearts.
    I am grateful….

    If we drop a hoolahoop as we stand; what is inside that hoolahoop is all we can control.
    It is all we have ever been able to, and will ever be able to, control. Any sense of control we may have thought we had is an illusion of control.
    Our power is in being able to recognize that we can accept what and who we cannot change, recognize the things and person we can change, and the wisdom to know the we can only change us. (The Serenity Prayer)
    Your piece is beautiful beyond words!
    Thank you!
    My favorite line is the last line….excuisite!
    “Fear and Hope are neighboring breaths, and paradise is in between”.

    • Annie on April 1, 2020 at 10:16 pm

      ONE DAY AT A TIME. Love this comment so much. Inside that hoola hoop is it. Sending love and hugs your way!!!!

  2. Theadora Phillips on April 1, 2020 at 5:45 pm

    I think the 91st Psalm says it all! It,is,the prayer of protection. I especially like the original King James version. We can all pray for our families, friends, neighbors and the world using this.

  3. Sandy McMillion on April 1, 2020 at 5:51 pm

    Is there a way to make this calendar into a screensaver on my phone?

  4. elle on April 1, 2020 at 5:58 pm

    Ah, yes. “…we must take care not to postpone happiness and peace until some later date..” Always true and now more than ever.
    Thank you for helping us to be in the present moment, grateful for whatever is in that moment.

    • Annie on April 1, 2020 at 10:18 pm

      Thank you for being so aware and so willing to find the goodness that is in every moment. xx

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6 Comments

  1. Karen Spiegel Frank on April 1, 2020 at 4:38 pm

    You sound much like a very old wise soul!

    One day at a time.
    Let us wake up with a prayer of gratitude and fall asleep with a prayer of gratitude on our lips and in our hearts.
    I am grateful….

    If we drop a hoolahoop as we stand; what is inside that hoolahoop is all we can control.
    It is all we have ever been able to, and will ever be able to, control. Any sense of control we may have thought we had is an illusion of control.
    Our power is in being able to recognize that we can accept what and who we cannot change, recognize the things and person we can change, and the wisdom to know the we can only change us. (The Serenity Prayer)
    Your piece is beautiful beyond words!
    Thank you!
    My favorite line is the last line….excuisite!
    “Fear and Hope are neighboring breaths, and paradise is in between”.

    • Annie on April 1, 2020 at 10:16 pm

      ONE DAY AT A TIME. Love this comment so much. Inside that hoola hoop is it. Sending love and hugs your way!!!!

  2. Theadora Phillips on April 1, 2020 at 5:45 pm

    I think the 91st Psalm says it all! It,is,the prayer of protection. I especially like the original King James version. We can all pray for our families, friends, neighbors and the world using this.

  3. Sandy McMillion on April 1, 2020 at 5:51 pm

    Is there a way to make this calendar into a screensaver on my phone?

  4. elle on April 1, 2020 at 5:58 pm

    Ah, yes. “…we must take care not to postpone happiness and peace until some later date..” Always true and now more than ever.
    Thank you for helping us to be in the present moment, grateful for whatever is in that moment.

    • Annie on April 1, 2020 at 10:18 pm

      Thank you for being so aware and so willing to find the goodness that is in every moment. xx

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