The River

Only the present flows

A river continually flows,
yet it is always here.

Always the same,
yet always new.

The river is everywhere at once,
at the source and at the mouth,
at the waterfall and in the ocean,
in the mountains and in the valleys.

For the river,
only the present flows.
Not the currents of the past.
Not the tides of the future.

When I review my life,
I see it too as a river.
Whole.

You are where you are.
You cannot be where you are not.

If you try to be where you are not,
you miss where you are,
like trying to hold water in your hand
while the river keeps flowing.

You can look back with nostalgia,
or forward with hope,
but it is always from this bank,
this moment,
this flow.

If you dwell where you are not,
you may find
you have lived your life wishing for another place,
while the river of now
is moving beneath your feet.

The only place that truly exists
is unfolding here,
like the river itself,
always moving,
always present,
always new.

And when the mind pulls you away,
remember:

The mind is the place
the soul goes to hide
from the heart.

Return instead to the river.

For the river is life.
The river is you.

Always flowing.
Always present.
Always whole.