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March   15th

THE PRESENT IS  ALL WE  POSSESS

“Were   you to  live    three   thousand    years,  or  even    a   countless   multiple    of  that,   keep    in  mind    that    no

one ever    loses   a   life    other   than    the one they    are living, and no  one ever    lives   a   life    other   than    the

one they    are losing. The longest and the shortest    life,   then,   amount  to  the same,   for the present

moment  lasts   the same    for all and is  all anyone  possesses.  No  one can lose    either  the past    or  the

future, for how can someone be  deprived    of  what’s  not theirs?”

—MARCUS AURELIUS,   MEDITATIONS,    2.14

oday, notice how often you look for more. That is, wanting the past to be more than what it was
(different, better, still here, etc.) or wanting the future to unfold exactly as you expect (with hardly a
thought as to how that might affect other people).
When you do this, you’re neglecting the present moment. Talk about ungrateful! There’s a saying—
attributed to Bil Keane, the cartoonist—worth remembering: “Yesterday’s the past, tomorrow’s the future,
but today is a gift. That’s why it’s called the present.” This present is in our possession—but it has an
expiration date, a quickly approaching one. If you enjoy all of it, it will be enough. It can last a whole
lifetime.