December 2020

“Nothing is more beautiful than a grateful heart.”

– Abner Prior

There was an uncomfortable emotional schism between the sheer thrill and exhilaration of this moment in time I was about to capture in the Owens Valley, near Lone Pine, California, and an undercurrent of worry and uncertainty about business and personal challenges awaiting my return in a week, hundreds of miles away back home. At last, the pure spiritual and existential magic of this moment took over and focused my attention and whole being completely in the here and now, and this scene, which lay before me in all of its magnificence, was the only thing that existed in my universe, or the universe for that matter.

In the years passed since the experience of this place in time in my life, with many more roads traveled and bridges crossed on my path forward, it was with the deeper wisdom of the greater truth of reality, that I gradually came to realize that, the present moment is all there is, there is no yesterday, there is no tomorrow, for all exists at once, simultaneously presenting itself as the here and now. What we focus our attention on is the only thing that exists, and by learning to focus on the present, we develop the irresistible power to create what is to come, for as we become masters of our present moment, we become the masters of our very fate.

As such, the best way to have a future filled with happiness is to have a present that is filled with happiness …  for you are only as powerful to create your desired reality as you allow yourself to be joyful in the present moment. Therefore, acknowledge that which is already in your life that makes you feel good, and make this your state of mind from which you perceive and operate in your world. Line up in a perpetual state of gratitude for all the good which is present in your life now … line up with well being, line up with feeling good in the here and now and you will find that what is coming to you will likewise be joyous and fulfilling. The one who masters their life, understands at the deepest level, that feelings of joy with gratitude is the essential secret to creating that which we want, now and in our days to come.