What's in front of me

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

I couldn’t grasp that for a long time. I mean, what does it even mean? There are so many things in my life that I never chose, still to this day do not choose and I’m sure there will be plenty more to come that I wouldn’t ever choose.

And therein lies my power. Acknowledging and accepting that I don’t (get to) choose everything, yet having the choice at all times what I want to do with it. Whatever presents itself to me, chosen or not, I do have a say so as to how I want to deal with it.

I get

to work with whatever is in front of me at any given moment. Since I have become more aware of it, I either have a much more calmer response, by allowing myself that extra second or so to pause before I respond, or I choose not to respond instead of just reacting to what presents itself right in front of me. Because even the things I do choose have a great potential to illicit an unwanted response from me. It shows out as in becoming frustrated, short-tempered and yes, to this day either annoyed or angry. It’s such a delicate balance to “work with” what the present moment contains and drawing my boundary line.