11/20/12—Finding Your Eternity

Today's Draw: The Fool from the Art of Life Tarot. Do you think it's wise to "launch yourself on every wave"? How many times can you say you've consciously been in touch with "your eternal self"? Have you ever had a totally deep or meaningful thought as you're drifting off to sleep, only to forget it upon waking? And, bonus question, did you actually remember it on waking and, if so, what was the thought?

About a week or so ago, I had a thought as I was drifting off to sleep...or maybe I was dreaming...but I remember thinking, "OMG, the next time I draw the Fool card, I've got to talk about THAT. We've never talked about THAT before and it's the key to EVERYTHING!"

Well, we're not going to talk about that today. Because I can't remember what it was....haha. And I can't tell you how many times I've tried to recall what it is. It's been EATING at me. It's like dreaming about the meaning of your life or the reason why we're all here and not being able to remember. Gah!!!

So whatever it was that I thought or dreamed of, it's not what we're going to talk about today. But the funny thing is that this Fool card comes with a quote from Henry David Thoreau that is pretty close to delivering one of those deep life secrets we're all searching for: 

"You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment."

We talk a lot about being fully present in the moment on this blog. That's what living in the present is about...living in this moment. Not a moment that happened five minutes from now, not one that may happen five years from now, but being absorbed fully in this precise moment—a moment without a past or present, a moment where you're not distracted by anything else, a moment that contains only now and the million possibilities that exist within it. 

These are the moments where you lose all sense of time and space...you're impervious to mundane demands...you're totally in the flow. In this moment, you don't have to pay bills, go to the doctor, lose 20 lbs, etc. You're not held to a pattern from the past or obligations in the future. All of that is for other moments. In this moment you and life are exactly right as they should be. 

Launching yourself on every wave is not far off from what we spoke of yesterday in our Being Your Own Hero essay. You grab life as it comes to you, rather than allowing it to grab you and steer your way. Surfers wait for the perfect wave to come. This is asking you to taste of every opportunity that comes your way. Eat the full smorgasbord of life. 

But the last bit of the quote is perhaps the juiciest. Find your eternity in each moment. See, that's the whole POINT of living in the moment. Because when you're in the moment, you're in the groove with the all of what is, you're in union with god and grace. You're walking through life hand-in-hand with your eternal self. Your divine self. Even if, in this moment, you're being arrested. Or insulted. You can be in the moment with it...find your eternity in that moment. 

Imagine, just for a minute, that you KNEW you were an eternal being. Knew it in every cell within your body. How would that change the frustrating or annoying situation you had earlier today? If you knew that nothing could destroy you, nothing could cut you short or cheat you out of anything. If you had the perspective of your soul or higher self, rather than just the perspective of your current incarnation?

On the one hand, we probably need the "deadline" of having, say, 80 years to work on our life's lessons, whatever they may be. Because if we knew we really had eternity to solve all those issues, we might take this lifetime off. But understanding the big ball of eternal grace that each of us is, could be game changing in our lives...in the way we deal with ourselves and others. And it all begins with putting ourselves in the one state that is truly eternal, this very moment. 

What do you see in the Fool's quote?