What Do I Do Now?

November 16, 2009

You’ve lived for a while now. The seconds, minutes, hours, and days since your conception have added up to years. Some of this living has been really good, and yes, some of it has been downright awful. You’ve had some significant achievements and some abject failures. You’ve met many people, some of whom were incredibly kind to you, while some self-centered jerks, focused on their own greedy interests and self-promotion, treated you poorly. You’ve traveled—perhaps just around the block or maybe around the globe. You’ve eaten many meals, thought silly, superficial thoughts, occasionally had a truly deep insight, and you’ve argued, cried, loved, and otherwise lived every human emotion. You’ve experienced a lot! And all of these things, the good and the bad and the funny and the strange, helped to sculpt the person you are today. You simply wouldn’t be who you are without the cumulative effects of these past experiences.

Moment by moment, experience by experience, the universe has crafted a truly unique person in you. But these past moments are indeed past. They no longer exist except in your memory and in the person you are today. And the person you are today has only this present moment to deal with. Choices, feelings, and behaviors only happen in the present moment.

If you believe that the universe has a Purpose, as I do, then you have been sculpted in a particular fashion for this very moment. The way to become lost is to lose touch with who you are and what you will do with this present moment.  Everything you’ve experienced thus far has made you the unique person you are. The only question that matters in this present moment is: What do I do now? The possibilities are so vast that they cannot be comprehended. Your unique gifts and talents are so much more than you can imagine. And yet, a particular Path is calling to you. The past does not exist; the future never arrives. Listen carefully and trust your heart’s answer to the question, “What do I do now?”—and do it!