Start anywhere

Where do you start in the present? How do you transform the present into something meaningful and real? If the present confronts you with the task to disentangle a complex problem, tidy up a chaotic studio, find the path from darkness to light, from mental confusion to spiritual peace? I find that Eleanor Roosevelt (thank you, Lynne Bundesen, for reminding me) and a historian whose work was important for my Ph.D. thesis, share a wonderful and relevant insight into life, amounting to direct advice. The historian describing his questions when he was writing the history of the Greek civilization shares this insight: "Because it is all connected, it doesn't really matter where you start. Start anywhere." (Jacob Burckhardt)

So take the first idea that comes to you - and put it into practice. Take one thing that is in your way and find its proper place. Keep going. Everything is essentially one - and waiting to figure out everything before you move forward or preparing for the ultimate masterplan before taking the next step or searching for the one spiritual quote that will answer all your questions is most often a waste of time. Truth is Truth, always, Life is Life - and whereever you get hold of it: You can catch Life by the tail of its jacket, and you have the jacket. Any spiritual idea represents the whole. Any pair of socks tucked away in its proper place is a gift to you when you need a new pair tomorrow.

We can start anywhere, and I am finding, that I am where I hoped to be quicker and with more joy when I start with modesty, doing what I can today, without an effort. I rarely have piles of unsolved issues sitting around - be they mental or physical - because my demands in the beginning of the solution are most often truly humble. I am easily pleased with a simple first step and willing to take it. No procrastination can stop us all from doing what is right in the present - being the best gift we give ourselves all the time.

A Christian Science hymn goes like this:

"All the way that we must go
We will take at Thy direction,
Where the floods of trouble flow
Find Thy perfect, calm reflection;
On the path that has no turning,
Patience, courage, meekness learning."

(by Edith Gaddis Brewer)