Be Present. Be Still. Don't Worry. Be Happy.

Don't let today be the tomorrow you worried about yesterday. Be present. Be still.
We can save so much energy that way and have more to give in the present and more energy generally. As Bobby McFerrin says in his song, "Don't Worry, Be Happy," "in every life we have some trouble but when you worry, you make it double."



We often get so caught up. Our daily lives can swing and pull and push us and then we often add worry on top of that. We forget stillness and presence. We let our worries overtake us, even into our meditation. We might worry that we are not where we are supposed to be, that we should be doing something more or better. Or, maybe it's the bills, the challenges of our lives. We might get stuck in worrying, letting our minds mull and mull, making it a thing that debilitates or hinders us from moving forward when really all we need is to come back to ourselves, come center to our core, and place one foot in front of the other.

Now is not a time to beat up on ourselves. We worry. It's human. So let's practice the other thing now, letting go of the worries about worrying or the tendency for it. "Let us not look back in anger, nor forward in fear, but around in awareness (James Thurber)" and let us remember that we have the tools to anchor ourselves, ground, clear the messiness in our heads that can use up all of our energies and zap or debilitate us.
Here's something: What if we could simply place the burden of worry someplace else? It would be a heck of a relief, wouldn't it? What if even imagining that lifts the burden and frees us enough to do our work, fulfill our desires, be more connected and alive in our world right now?

"Place your burden
at the feet of the Lord of the Universe
who accomplishes everything.
Remain all the time steadfast in the heart,
in the Transcendental Absolute.
God knows the past, present and future.
He will determine the future for you
and accomplish the work.
What is to be done will be done
at the proper time. Don’t worry.
Abide in the heart and surrender your acts
to the divine."

- Ramana Maharshi

And in all this smile. Smiling brings much relief and opens us up to the world in front of us.
-Tameca L Coleman.