"I have arrived, I am home, In the here,    
    In the now.
I am solid. I am free. In the ultimate
    I dwell."
~Thich Nhat Hanh

Last night I had a conversation with our youngest son who is living away from home for the first time. The conversation centered around what life was like before college, what it is like now and the differences and similarities between the two. On the one hand it is so easy to romanticize the past and so difficult to imagine the future. This conversation from both our perspectives moved in the landscape of shadow that exists between trying to hold onto what was and unclench our fists toward what is yet to be.

In the end we were able to settle on the truth that what we really have is the home of the present moment. How we live with that reality makes all the difference. How we find joy in the little quirky things that pass in front of our eyes and capture our hearts. How we allow the eyes behind our eyes to see deeply into the pain of another. How we chip the ice away from our stubbornness and welcome what is new, what is unexpected, what could challenge us. How we allow our breath to keep us here, now, conscious of the very life moving in and out, in and out.  All these things, and more, open us to what it means to dwell in the Ultimate. 

Perhaps it is not your practice to have your body in this moment while your mind is racing ahead to the next worry, the next event, the next….next….next. But I know I can certainly spend a boat load of time vacating my body for the what next and the what has been. It can make for some neck snapping moments when you get called,thankfully, back to the now.

Here's the truth…..this present moment is home. Whatever you are doing right now is a sure sign that you are alive, that you are on some solid ground. It could be a mundane or a miraculous moment. It could be filled with anxiety or full hearted hope. It is not what has happened or what will be. It is now. It is gift.

So……breathe…..your…..way….home……