This time is ours - don't throw it all away...

"This very instant" is all we have.  We make plans for the future, we invoke memories of the past, but really, all we have to deal with and to act in is the moment at hand.  We cannot stop its going; we cannot hurry the next moment on its way.  Like everyone else in the world, we're partners in the dull, humdrum, dazzling, fabulous, totally unpredictable moment.

And if we have a time that is "out time," it's right now.  It has to be, because there isn't any other.  Maybe we've had times in the past that were special for us; maybe the future will hold precious moments. But the only time that is truly "our time" is this time, where we are, right now.  And what we do with this time is ours to decide.

''We can smile, breathe, walk, and eat our meals in a way that allows us to be in touch with the abundance of happiness that is available.  We are very good  at preparing to live, but not very good at living.  We know how to sacrifice ten years for a diploma, and we are willing to work very hard to get a job, a car, a house, and so on.  But we have difficulty remembering that we are alive in the present moment, the only moment there is for us to be alive.  Every breath we take, every step we make, can be filled with peace, joy, and serenity. We need only to be awake, alive in the present moment. '' - Thich Nhat Hanh

Sometimes fate is like a small sandstorm that keeps changing directions. You change direction but the sandstorm chases you. You turn again, but the storm adjusts. Over and over you play this out, like some ominous dance with death just before dawn. Why? Because this storm isn’t something that has nothing to do with you; this storm is you; something inside you. So all you can do is give in to it, step right inside the storm, closing your eyes and plugging up your ears so the sand doesn’t get in, and walk through it, step by step. There’s no sun there, no moon, no direction, no sense of time...

And once the storm is over, you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about....

Life will break you. Nobody can protect you from that. And living alone, or within your little sheltered unit, won’t protect you from that either; for solitude, and isolation from the world around you, will also break you with its yearning. You have to love. You have to feel. It is the reason you are here on earth. You are here to risk your heart. You are here to be swallowed up. And when it happens that you are broken, or betrayed, or left, or hurt, or death brushes near, let yourself sit by an apple tree and listen to the apples falling all around you in heaps, wasting their sweetness. Tell yourself you tasted as many as you could...

When you find yourself in a storm; when you find yourself struggling financially; when you find yourself being wrongly judged; when you are at your last tether, or your funds run out; when people at work speak negatively over you or say you are useless; when the odds are always against you - what are you going to do? Wither away, or rise to your destiny?

The truth is this, that people will always talk. It's their nature. But you need to reach for a much higher purpose. You need to rise amidst the difficulties; you need to know who and what you are in Christ. Are you going to allow the negative naysayers to shatter you, or are you going to reply in love? A love that asks for nothing; but a love that conquers all. You don't know what people are going through. Just respond like Jesus would; and love all, accept all - standing firm, unshaken - oh yes, you are human, and it is normal to become emotional or question why; but as long as you don't stay down, you learn from your experiences, and you turn the set-backs into come-backs; the disappointments into appointments; the pain into joy.

And remember to help someone along the way - You need to not look to the left nor the right, but to the Author and Finisher of your Faith. So when you stand out or make a difference in boldness, people will try to shut you up; but God will honour you. I am not saying, be a doormat - all I am saying is never allow situations to bring out the worst in you. Also never sell yourself so short that you put people on a pedestal, and in the process you forget about yourself. You are important, significant - you owe it to yourself to be your best. In the end, it's about you, and your Creator.

Have a blessed life further; and keep on seeking God's wisdom and guidance in everything you do! And do it NOW!