The Rhythm of Now

I come from a long line of worriers. Growing up, I lived in a household of four generations of women. My great grandmother, my grandmother, and my mother all worried about everything. They had survived a world in war, the great depression, hunger, and loss. They were not people of means, and I am sure that all of those things contributed to worry and sleepless nights. So it is only natural that I am a worrier too, although not to the same degree.

During my meditation practices this week, the oracle cards that have kept coming up for me are ones that keep pointing out the idea of flow. There is ebb and flow, being in flow, trusting the flow, creative flow. Ultimately, they all point out to me how important it is to just allow life – in all its contradictions, its quirkiness, its uncertainties – to flow around me. I must trust that each moment is exactly what it should be. I must be present in each moment and recognize that it is the only moment that I have. I call this state, the rhythm of now.

If I am fearful and anxious about the future, I am wasting the moment that I am living in. If I am focused on or regretful about the past, I am also wasting this very moment. My task is to focus on the here and the now and to allow the flow of moments to wash over me without judgment. My task is to be fully present as each moment unfolds, to allow whatever feelings I am experiencing to flow through me without identifying with those feelings.

If I am in the here and now, I am in flow with the universe. I am fully present. I am not in a state of worry. I am not missing out on the now because I am focused on the past or the future. I can fully appreciate the things of the here and now – the beauty of the sky, the scent of a flower, the joy of a hug, or conversely the pain in my joints, or the loneliness of being misunderstood. How I respond to these moments will determine my future because they are all about how I approach life. Is it with love and appreciation for each moment or is it in fear and mistrust based on past wounds or a frightening future?

As I put my focus on each moment, I am fully experiencing life in all its wonder. I am allowing life to flow, and I am an active participant in that flow. It is in that flow that co-creation with Goddess can happen. It is in that flow, the rhythm of now, that life at its best can happen. It is also in that flow that I can trust that I am held and safe. Whatever is going on around me is a part of a much bigger and grander picture. Even in the difficult times of life, there is an ebb and flow. I can find beauty in the dark times as well as the light times if I stay in the rhythm of now. While being in the rhythm of now may not change what is going on the wider world, it changes how I perceive the world and allows me to savor my life instead of worrying about the past or the future.

Barbara Garland
February 11, 2022