How much of my life do I spend somewhere other than here?

My mind returns to yesterday, revisiting conversations, decisions, and moments I wish had been different. Or it wanders into tomorrow, imagining what might happen and what I might need to do.

All the while, the peace I seek is available in this very instant.

Today's lesson reminds me that time need not be a prison of memories and expectations. It can serve a different purpose. Through forgiveness, I can release the past rather than carry it forward. I can loosen my hold on the future and allow this moment to be enough.

The holy instant is not something I must earn or prepare myself to experience. It is an invitation to recognize the Love that has never left me.

Only now. Only here.

There is something wonderfully freeing about those simple words. Nothing to retrieve from yesterday. Nothing to secure for tomorrow.

The birth of Christ is now. Love is present now. And the peace of God is not waiting somewhere beyond this moment.

Perhaps remembering wholeness is as simple as becoming willing to be here, where Love has always been.