this instant

I'm finding myself to be distracted by impatience today. I'm distracted by the plans and decisions I've made. Instead of focusing on the present, I'm obsessed with the future. I felt noticeably irritable today, while my mind was constantly begging to be elsewhere and the present was forcing me back to where I was, where I am.

So now I'm asking myself, how do I live right now, in today? Buddha teaches that we suffer because we desire. This is something that has proven to me over and over again in my life. Meditation instructs us to be mindful of these sensations, acknowledge them for what they are, and then release them. A person should stay present, focused on this instant. It's these instants that will walk me towards my future plans. It's these instants that, when cast aside, are lost forever. Ignored, they are chances missed to be prepared for the future I hope to create.

Here I am then, giving myself a new task: to be mindful of the moment, the instant, the now. There is nothing but now.