This moment. This very moment that our whole lives led up to. Oh my, such an amazing realization every single time! I’m writing this and you’re reading this in THIS moment.

I confess I notice a little self-consciousness that accompanies this desire to speak to the profound truth of presence. It’s the voice in my head that says, “Everybody knows that, Jesua. It’s the most basic teaching of all time. Why are you talking about that?” But I’ll tell you why: I’m continuously astounded by this exquisite revelation of presence. Aren’t you??

I mean truly—what a miracle… that this NOW, this holy instant, is all we get, forever. Isn’t it a breathtaking reality? So simple, so obvious, and yet forever bearing the possibility of an entirely fresh and deeper revealing.

It’s why Ram Das told us to “Be Here Now.” It’s why the celebratory call to presence is at the heart of every spiritual tradition. It’s why my teacher Gangaji asks us, “Where is your attention in this moment?” It’s why my dear shamanic elder Tom Pinkson invites us to “Live Love Now.”

Inherent in presence is an intimacy with death, with the precariousness of our aliveness, the precious fleetingness of life. To be fully present in life is to be fully present to the undeniable truth of death. Maybe that’s why so many people do everything possible to avoid being present?

Inherent in presence is our willingness to BE with whatever is present… even if that is extreme discomfort, or fear, or confusion, or grief, or fury, or shame.

If we put down all our distractions, all our scrolling, our shopping, our striving, our avoiding, our processing, our relating, our fantasizing, our scheming, our gossiping, our wishing, our hating, our whining, even our intending, and just be here with ourselves in this moment, there’s a chance for a fresh start.

A fresh beginning of life again. A fresh moment, this moment: our only moment of life, to live.

This is the only moment we ever get—to be vigilant; to be kind; to feel what’s arising; to respond with patience; to tell the truth; to say I’m sorry; to love ourselves.

Our presence is one and the same with our open, holy heart. It’s a chance for our hearts to meet the world, just as it is.

To meet LIFE just as it is, and our own selves just as we are, for the first time, for the only time.

As we attend continuously to presence, then we get to live in a world that is present to itself, open to itself, awake to itself, alive as love in itself.

And this, it seems to me, is the most potent medicine we could ever ask for.

I love you. xo