A small bouquet of tulips taped next to the exit turnstile. Perhaps in memoriam. Perhaps a lovers secret message. Perhaps some anonymous kindness. Whatever its genesis, while exiting the train, I was struck by the image and it warmed my heart. A simple gesture, a small beauty.
Life can be a grind, full of worries and anxieties. Sometimes weighted down by obligation and responsibility. Stress can take us out of the moment and cast us into potential pitfalls where we wallow in what-ifs. But you can only be so prepared for adversity, only so ready for the challenges of tomorrow.
The reality is there is only this day, this hour, this moment. And in this moment the path is relatively clear, life relatively simple. The concerns of next year or next month or next week need only be addressed when they reach the present. Certainly there is some benefit to planning but there is a fine line between preparation and obsession, between caution and fear.
If we are able to exist in the present, devoid of past guilt or future expectation, we open ourselves up to a richness and quality of life that is not hamstrung by apprehension. We can find contentment not in some distant success or prospective opportunity but in the now. We can find happiness by relishing the countless small things in any given day we enjoy- a friendly hug, a good book, dappled sunshine, on and on. We can begin to develop awareness beyond the self, begin to notice the world's tiny miracles, its little mysteries. And perhaps, over time, we become a part of them.
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