Here and Now

At different points in our lives, we experience varying degrees of pain.  During these heightened moments, it is easy to believe that we are going through the most hurtful moments of our lives.  And yet when we look back weeks, months, or years thereafter, the experience is nothing but a distant memory.  I believe that the power is in the here and now.  It is where the pain is so intense, it is when it hurts the most that we have the choice to either suffer or grow from the experience.  The pain that we are feeling is but a recent memory, it is not the here and now.  At this moment, while we hold the remnants of our pain, we can look at it with gratitude because it gives rise to a deeper and greater awareness of ourselves.  I am inspired by the thoughts of Jon Kabat-Zinn about healing and curing.  He says, "Healing does not mean curing, although the two words are often used interchangeably.  While it may not be possible for us to cure ourselves or to find someone who can, it is always possible for us to heal ourselves.  Healing implies the possibility for us to relate differently to illness, disability, even death, as we learn to see with eyes of wholeness.  Healing is coming to terms with things as they are."  It is in the here and now where we can choose to relate differently to our pain.  This is the time when it is more important for us to be mindful of our thoughts and feelings.