Has one ever scorned a cat for having one white whisker, or a ladybug for having uneven spots?
Do we think less of our family pets when they are ungroomed, or more of them for how much we paid for them?
Then, why do we look at an odd freckle on our faces, or one gray hair, or our messy bedheads, or our expensive/inexpensive clothes, and use them to judge who we are?
Are we not nature? Is the freckle on my arm any different from a knot in a tree? Are the wrinkles around our eyes any different from a tree's gnarled limbs? Is a balding head any different from a molting bird, or leaves in fall?
We are a part of life. We are born, grow, age, wrinkle, get sick, reproduce, and we die. Why do we run from the very nature of our lives?
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I recommend the practice of gratitude. I say "practice" in that it is an ongoing, ritualistic, essential method of recognizing and appreciating the life that we have.
I have kept a small, plain black journal within my sight everyday for the past few months. When a feeling of gratitude strikes me, I write it down. I make an effort to examine every aspect as to why I am grateful for its presence in my life. I have written excerpts to my family, my freedom, the people in my life, my job, and most importantly, to myself.
When you open yourself up to acknowledging the great occurrences within your life, and when you pinpoint as to why you are the most crucial element of your life, your life begins to relax. Every time I write an entry, I feel enlightened, almost joyful, ecstatic. I know my own worth. I live in the moment, and I understand the value of the life that I have now. Negativity is watered down with every positive comprehension.
It is a component to mindfulness, bringing yourself back to the present. And when one begins to live in the present, you no longer need to look behind yourself, and you cease those guilty peeks into the future.
All that matters is now.
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