The present lands with so many different
Aspects we cannot establish any succession—
We Split ourselves into as many selves as
There are Bits of the present dumped on us—²
Consciousness darts back & forth in time like a Weaver—
And occupies, busy with mysterious Self-Gatherings,
A very large specious present …³
All that thou canst call thine
Own lies in the word “Today!”⁴
It’s Today that counts, not tomorrow—
And the flow of time Pauses briefly.⁵
The Present is a Moving Stillness: an
Eternal Stream from which neither
We nor anything else can deviate—⁶
Time passes different here:
Here it’s always Year One.⁷
The Secret is here in the
Present: if we just pay Attention to
The Present—we can Improve upon it—⁸
Love flows from the Receptivity of presence:
All that we cherish is already here—Sourced in presence.⁹
No hand can stop the Sand from flowing fast away—
But one that turns the whole glass down and
Dreams: ‘tis All Today!¹⁰
¹ Katharine Coles, A Dog In Time
² Italo Calvino tr. Martin McLaughlin, Shells and Time
³ Iris Murdoch, The Black Prince
⁴ Sarah Doudney, The Water Mill
⁵ Primo Levi tr. Ruth Feldman & Brian Swann, Memorandum Book
⁶ Alan Watts, This Is It
⁷ Ursula K. Le Guin, Coming of Age in Karhide
⁸ Paulo Coelho tr. Alan R. Clarke, The Alchemist
⁹ Tara Brach, True Refuge
¹⁰ John Bennett, Her Answer