Staying present and “in the now” continues to be my main challenge in life. I know that compulsively thinking about past or future is not the path to peace. My mother and I are stuck in the past, and it is impossible for us to move forward. And I am so sad about that.
Rage, anger, guilt, resentment, and depression are all emotions associated with thoughts about the past. Fear, anxiety, worry, tension, and stress are all related to thoughts about the future. And I often find myself toggling back and forth between both states (Keith Ashford talks about this in his book about anger). When I occasionally find myself, or manage to get myself into the now, it is such a release. Meditation helps. Being around my wife too….she’s so good at this….at simply “living.” Hope to figure out how to spend more time here…
servingothersblog.com 
Jonathan, I’m confident that you will figure out how to spend more time in the present. Just the name of your blog, “serving others,” says a lot about you…that you’re a thoughtful, giving, selfless and loving soul. I came across your post called, “Struggle,” at a perfect time…when I was struggling. Although the post was short and sweet, the inspiration it gave me was deep, amazing and priceless, and I thank you again for that. God knows that you’re a soul with a BIG heart, and I’ll bet He intends on doing great things through you, more than you can imagine…so that you may touch other souls who need healing and bonding. You already have done great, but you probably don’t give yourself enough credit. Just like that one “teacher” quote goes, YOU will affect eternity; you can never tell where your influence stops. So keep up the great work…and “Don’t worry…Be happy!” 😀 By the way, meditation does help (like you mentioned); I particularly love listening to and watching the beautiful healing music (from YouTube) of love, peace, intuition, spiritual awakening, Heart Chakra Release- Solfeggio frequency 639 hz (my favorite), 936Hz Pineal Gland Activator, etc. I feel so much peace afterwards…you should try it! Have a great weekend!
Bobbie
Hi Bobbie…thank you so very much for those heartfelt comments. As I began reading, I started crying, which I never do, so you definitely hit on something. You are very generous in your comments, much more so than I am with myself. I haven’t figured out what’s next for me, and although I have faith that I will eventually, not knowing can be a tough place to be at times. But there is so much to “not know,” the big challenge is to learn to comfortable in this place. I am so happy the struggle quote was helpful. Some would say struggle is something we crate ourselves, and the real master would see this as learning, not as an obstacle. Again, not an easy place to get to, but very intriguing. Also loved your music suggestions, and started listening to them right away. Thanks again so much for the encouragement.
J.
Hi J,
I just now came across your reply. I’m still learning about WordPress, and I didn’t realize that I had a section of replies from comments that I had made on posts. I just figured I wasn’t getting replies. Anyway, thank you so much for always sharing your amazing soul. I’m glad you enjoyed the music! 🙂 I hope you and your family have a great weekend!! 😀