Seize the present

One of my favorite poems is Robert Frost's 'Carpe Diem'. I cherish the whole poem yet it is the latter half that always gets me........
"But bid life seize the present?
It lives less in the present
Than in the future always,
And less in both together
Than in the past. The present
Is too much for the senses,
Too crowding, too confusing-
Too present to imagine."

We would rather attempt to buy or scale all eternity rather than live fully in a single hour spiritually alive and emotionally awake to the very present moment in which we now stand .We would prefer to raid the future; invade it and ask of it the impossible rather than settle into a single moment in the present, fully aware,and fully engaged in the wonders of the here and now!We have become refugees from the present, fugitives from ourselves. The very dawning of the next conscious moment frightens us and we flee.

And so the tragedy continues where we flee the present through preoccupation with the past or fixated on the future completely disconnected ,disappointed, dispassionate about THIS moment.We try to anesthetize our minds with busyness, television,video games,or other means to avoid our own emptiness in the now. Subsequently men never really live, they merely dream of living someday or worse , they glorify and inglorious past. The Apostle Paul wrote these words," Now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation."

Hebrews chapter three quotes the Psalms with special emphasis three times,"Today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts..." We must learn to be present today. We live in a world of escape and denial. We go to extreme lengths to deny our; pain, sin ,guilt,failure, and numerous other emotions and feelings for fear we cannot stand the weight or burden of the moment-and so we flee; to where or to what matters not as long as we are not required to own this moment. I say let the terror fall. Feel the agony and exhume your exhausted soul. There are a thousand voices; travel ,internet,facebook,texting,vacations,preoccupation with others. Myriads of voices and exposures but only one voice that will silence all the others.....the still small voice of God through an awakened conscience.

In order to acquire the discipline of being present in the moment and cease being a fugitive from yourself , try first setting aside a day unplanned allowing thoughts, fears,and feelings that were previously suppressed to rise to the surface where they can be felt again.Rally the courage to feel the horror of that hollow feeling and emptiness once again only this time intentionally aware. Guilt will pummel you, past sin will try to bury you, despair will try to overwhelm you but hold your ground and feel it all. Anxiousness will set in and you will want to run like you are in the habit of doing or worse flee to comfort yourself with pleasure or some crazy behaviour that will
only enslave you further. In that now moment allow the anxiousness and terror to roll over you like a wave. If you remain still and conscious you have taken the first step successfully.

Take a second step and begin to write down what you feel. If random thoughts write randomly,just try to stay tuned to the present moment as long as you can. Invite God to sit beside you and let him speak. He is ever present, ever loving, ever wise, ever forgiving and ever speaking. Take all the guilt ,shame ,blame, and pain to the cross and set it all at the feet of Jesus. Look at it with him, feel the horror of your sin and allow it's terror to overwhelm you- then own it,repent of it and allow his grace ,mercy and forgiveness to roll over you. You will find yourself wanting to live each day in the present with an ever present God......Carpe Diem