Five mindfulness invitations for practicing presence
Because it’s a shame to keep waiting for 'later'
Introduction
In our time, there is a shortage of space. Not living space—though that is also in short supply—but inner space. We often move faster than is good for us. We assume that real life can only begin once everything is in order. We live with the illusion that there will be some future moment when we’ll finally get to start living: when home is calm, when the inbox is empty, when our mind feels clear.
But life doesn’t wait. Life is what unfolds in the midst of all those full days, all those moments when we tell ourselves that later will be better.
Mindfulness is not a technique to arrive at that future moment sooner. It is the capacity to remember that the only moment in which we can actually live is this one. Later is now. And this moment does not need to be improved before it can be experienced. What we think will only be possible later, is already here—if we stop feeding the thought of “later.” This requires a gentle kind of courage: the willingnes…
