To be present is to unite one’s mind, heart, and body in the same place and now.
It’s a state of complete unity, where one’s entire being actively engages in the moment with potency.
The antithesis of presence is splitness.
In splitness, the mind and heart scatter, diffusing one’s life and causing disconnection from oneself and the present.
This disconnection often emerges from a lack of margin in one’s life.
The mind needs space to observe, acknowledge, resolve, and release.
The heart needs stillness to be heard.
The two need time to integrate into one’s body, choices, and actions.
“Do you have the patience to wait till your mud settles and the water is clear? Can you remain unmoving till the right action arises by itself?”
Lao Tzu, TAO TE CHING
Achieving alignment between internal and external worlds does not occur through haste or happenstance.
It requires intention and patience to allow the mind’s chaos to settle, to let clarity emerge from the stillness so that one can genuinely be where they are.
Be patient.
Be present.
Be potent.
Be in one place at once.