Aaron Engelsrud

We are always free to chose how we respond to any situation. No one but you can make that decision.

“Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” – Viktor Frankl

Accepting your present reality seems to be a pretty straightforward concept, but it proves to be very challenging in practice. How often do you fight what is already done or try to change what has already happened? All the time. We very rarely live in the now as if it were what we chose. I think I struggle with this every day. If I could successfully do this, consider how easy life would be, how simple forgiveness would be, and how much more enjoyable my outlook would be.

“Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it. Always work with it, not against it.” – Eckhart Tolle

I can see where this concept is hard to internalize. We have all become so focused on improvement and climbing the ladder that the idea of doing something without that intention is very challenging.

“Meditation is the only intentional, systematic human activity which at bottom is about not trying to improve yourself or get anywhere else, but simply to realize where you already are.” Jon Kabat-Zinn

The practice of meditation and mindfulness is not an opportunity to escape your life or get away from stress. Rather meditation allows you an opportunity to see things as they really are rather than clouded by emotions and other noise. With clear vision, better reasoning and decisions can be made.

“Meditation is not evasion; it is a serene encounter with reality.” – Thích Nhất Hạnh

Live each and every day like it may be your last. Pay attention to everyone and everything that is important to you. You’ll never regret it.

“It’s only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth – and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up – that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had.” - Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

We are always trying to get some where other than where we are - a better job, a bigger house, more money, etc. We are very rarely happy to be where we are and this is a constant source of stress.

“The standard way of reducing stress in our culture is to put as much energy as possible into trying to arrive at a moment that matches our preferences. This ensures that we feel some level of stress until we get there (assuming we ever will) and worse, it makes the present moment into an unacceptable place to be.” David Cain