The other problem with all this swinging through the vines of thought is that
you are never where you are. You are always digging in the past or
poking at the future, but rarely do you rest in this moment. It's something
like the habit of my dear friend Susan, who--whenever she sees a beautiful
place--exclaims in near panic, "It's so beautiful here! I want to come back
here someday!" and it takes all of my persuasive powers to try to convince
her that she is already here. If you're looking for union with the divine, this kind of forward/backward whirling is a problem. There's a reason they call God a presence--because God is right here, right now. In the present is the only place to find Him, and now is the only time.
I want to learn to be fully present in each moment...the glorious moments, the boring & tedious moments...even the bad ones...to know and feel the present so well that it ties the past and future together...that the past and the future collapse into the present. Perhaps in the space of that moment the essence of God will drip into my life. Even one drop will do! The biggest problem I have right now is that the "moment" seems so fleeting. It's hard to capture the essence of the moment long enough to truly savor it. Like capturing the elusive scent of an evening flower on the breeze long enough to enjoy it! Anyway...I'll see where this takes me.