The Precious Present

Somewhere along my journey in life, I was given the precious present.  With it, I became happy and realised that each day I was in joy.  Aware of this precious present increased my joy and I started feeling so much gratitude for this precious present that filled me each day with more joy.

I was feeling so much gratitude and joy that I started getting rid of my unwanted baggage which I realised was making my journey of life heavy.  

I threw away so much unwanted baggage that I felt light and it made me even more happy.  

I wondered and wondered .... all of this started when I received this precious present, because it made me joy-full and feeling gratitude and thankful for the being who gave me this wonderful precious present. 

It is like possessing a special magical gift, but, of course, a gift is a present, no? 

That is why I always call it my precious present.

Many of my friends noticed that I am always happy and full of joy even when a negative circumstance seem to hit me.  They were curious and wanted to know what happened to me.  

Had I been to a guru because they would want to meet such a guru themselves.  

Had I won the lottery? 

Had I inherited? 

To each of their queries my answer was a simple 'No'. When I told them it is because I have a precious present, they first did not believe their ears, then started laughing so hard thinking, I am sure, that I was crazy.  And when I told them that yes, maybe I am crazy, but I am happy and joyful, they even laughed more and more.

When they calmed down, seeing I fell into silence, they asked me to show them my precious present and I asked them to come and see me in the evening at my place.  The time came and so did they ... they all came with a curiosity that was eating them.

When we all settled down, they wanted to know who gave me this precious present I would soon be showing them?  And so, after clearing my throat and looking into their eyes, I started telling them.

"This precious present I always carry with me because when I lose it, I become sad."  I noticed this was not making sense to them and so I elaborated fully.

It is wise for me to think about the past & learn from it, but it is not wise to get stuck in the past, because that is how I lose myself and the Precious Present.

It is wise for me to think about the future, to prepare for the future, but not to get stuck in the future because that is how I lose myself and the Precious Present.

And, when I lose myself, I lose what is most precious to me.

IT IS ALL SO SIMPLE!  The precious present is the Present!  Here I am filled and nourished.

It was not easy to be in the present.  Learning to be in the present, I had to do it over and over again until it was a part of me.

When I feel guilty over my imperfect past, or am anxious over my unknown future, I do not live in the present, I experience pain and make myself ill and I am unhappy.  As long as I continue to stay in the Present I am happy forever … Why?

Because forever is always the present.  The present is simply Who I am … Just the Way I am … right NOW.

And it is precious … I am precious!

Because I am the precious present!

Heaven and Hell

Most people believe that heaven is a destination, a place that you can go to when you're done with your living.
Where you'll be greeted with your loved ones, who also "went" to heaven after they passed away.
With angels singing heavenly songs while strumming their little golden harp, among fluffy clouds or lush Eden garden.

Most people believe that hell is also a destination where you're going to end up in if you are an unbeliever, or if you were doing drugs or cheating on your spouse, getting some serious fun every night clubbing with the night butterflies and making money selling amazing illegal things.
Then, to the four steps of hell you go after death (there's another version with 18 steps, very intriguing).  Where you burn in eternal fire and scream pains and suffering so that you repay whatever things you did when you were alive.

As soon as we were born, we were given different genders, clothed in pink or blue, told we were good or bad that day, that if we've been good, we'd get a reward, and if we've been bad, we'd get detention.

I never buy into that concept, the duality of things, heaven and hell, good and evil,  yin and yang.  Don't get me wrong, I spent a hefty amount of time, money and energy exploring the Chinese Metaphysical world.  It flowed with such ease in this incarnation, that's why I picked this body, this lineage, this place of such unseen oppression.
Win or lose, love or hate, all those contrasts, constantly being fed into our mind.  They're just mere labels, the left brain compartmentalising series of emotions because it doesn't have the capability to process it in any other way.

Do you realise that heaven and hell exist simultaneously inside of every each one of yourself?
There is no destination, because you're already there.
Open your heart and find that you're wherever you needed to be.  Whether it's heaven or hell.  These are just mere labels.

Therefore, when you base your living on LOVE, the energy you have can't be classified as good energy or bad energy, it's just LOVE energy, the one of the source, the infinite and the all knowing.