Byron Katie is the writer of the book Loving What Is, and last night I was able to discover the full meaning of that phrase. As I went to my steposon's high school graduation, so many things happened that I could have judged, or I would have judged in my old state of mind. Instead I just accepted them as they were. I had wonderful conversations that I could never have imagined because I allowed them to happen without looking for a way to control them.

As people behaved the way they were, I was able to accept and honor who they were, and release the judgment of whether that behavior was appropriate for the moment. It was totally appropriate in their mind, and they were right. As I released non-acceptance, the world started to look much more beautiful. As I took down my walls of judgment, the reality of the world began to glitter with magic and joy.

By the end of the evening, I went home enveloped in a cloud of magic, walking with "diamonds on the souls of my shoes". The magic continued to vibrate into the evening as I sat on the porch, listening to the frogs and crickets, sluggish fireflies making their spring debut. The only thing that is perfect is the present.

Slow Down Challenge

This afternoon, I decided to slow down a little. I realized that I seemed to always be rushing from one activity to another. Even going from work to a gorgeous walk. Sometimes I am so grateful when my dog Rudy takes a detour, and I have to stop and wait. That's when I notice what is around me. Or stopping as I get out of the car and the stars are painting the sky.

Just fixing dinner, to slow down as I went to the spice rack, to walk to the cabinet a little gentler, to sit down in the chair and notice my body folding and bending. It continued into the evening. What I noticed was how I moved into the moment when I slowed down. I can't slow down without becoming aware of the present.

And everything seemed smoother, more graceful, more natural. It seemed to calm me down, to find a little peace in the conscious activity of day to day, just by slowing down a little.

So my challenge to you, the Watson Challenge, is to slow down everything you do. Just for one day. Not a lot, not slow motion, just a little slower. Just enough to become present. Let me know how it goes.

In the moment

After two weeks travelling to Hawaii, one of the most important lessons for me was to see how my joy and happiness depended on how much I was in the moment. Being present was the highest and most powerful criteria for my state of happiness, no matter the situation or environment I was in.

One night I was in an old hotel that was a panoply of businesses occupying the myriad of rooms facing on to the central courtyard below, a crescent moon shining down for our main spotlight, and a candle for ancillary lighting. The music was subtle, tunes arbitrarily chosen from chord progressions to support rapping. I was playing hand drums, which takes my total concentration. With that concentration, there is nothing that can intrude. Focus on the present.

Lying on the beach with very few people willing to brave the cool elements, the sun and beautiful Pacific ocean dominated the environment, and began to fill my mind with serenity and joy. But it wasn't the environment, it was my own mind that allowed for the beauty around to fill me up, to feel the energy of the island. In the moment, I was able to experience my bliss.

Attending Unity of Hawaii, I was able to release my experiences prior and to enjoy the experience of this service, to experience the warmth of the people around me, to appreciate the gifts of the spiritual guides present. I danced down the aisle to offer my gifts; I appreciated each person who approached and asked questions, only in the moment.

Perched on a mountainside above Moanoa valley, nestled among lob lobby pines, I was listening acutely to the winds and looking at the waining twilight, clouds spinning off into the west. In the moment that would never be again.

Flying into Cincinnati, the terrain was being occluded by impending dark, noticing the highway's curve and whine, the slower pace of blacktop tributaries leading to my quiet abode, a home by any other name. . .

Looking into each face, stranger or old friend, there is only this moment. Pain is of the past. Frustration is of expectations. This moment includes neither.