This week was reformationally good for me. As I was seated on a train riding from Sevilla to Granada, I finished Eckhart Tolle's book, A New Earth, Awakening to Your Life's Purpose. My first trip to Spain, second trip to Europe in my life (accomplished within a 3-month period) and completing the book that resonated with me more than any other self-help, personal relationship, human relationship, religious, philosophical book I have read.
The message for me was simple and I was in exactly the right place at the right time to receive it. I hear Wayne from "Wayne's World, the movie" shouting "Live in the now!" This is the basic message that Tolle is trying to get across. Now, Wayne was trying to tell an ex-girlfriend to move on but it's interesting where we find some of the most precious of life's lessons. The message can be applied to the scene in the movie or any point in life.
As I closed the book and looked out the train window, I had no issuse being present in that moment. I was looking at row after row of olive trees and the Sierra Nevada in the background. The sun was shining in the window, warming my face. My headphones were pumping my own selection of music into my ears. At that very moment, I was in my own personal paradise. It's easy to be present in moments such as this. Why would my mind wander to what I did yesterday or last week or what I am going to do tomorrow?
Following my arrival in Granada, I attended a Arabian-style bath/spa where I spent an hour and a half taking my time soaking in 8 different pools of different temperatures, had a 30-minute massage and sipped herbal tea. I really wanted to use this time to meditate and reflect on the "awakening" I had experienced earlier that day. However, my travel companions and I were not alone in the baths and the group making a "commotion," (I'll call them "euro-men donning Speedos") started to challenge my commitment to being present at all times (I realize it was only a couple hours old but it was a sincere commitment!!)
Fast forward about 7 more hours at the end of a day of trying to find a vegetarian meal in a country that eats every last part of a pig, walking around the beautiful Alhambra (atop the highest hill in all of Granada) and add in 4 adults who are trying their best to be civil to one another and I am no longer anywhere NEAR being present in the moment. While walking to the train, I just kept thinking about getting to the station. Then, I was thinking about getting in the sleeping car and closing my eyes. IN FACT, as I was seated in the train station cafe waiting for the overnight train to Barcelona, I had already placed myself at least into tomorrow and at one point back home in the comfort of my usual surroundings.
Now, as I realize how difficult it is when outside of my own personal paradise to be completely present, I am aware of my writing as I write this. I am conscious of the hustle and bustle of the train station. Most of all, I'm conscious of my breath, my heartbeat, my oxygenated blood running through my veins and the idea that all I have is the very moment that is occurring right now.
(Pictur
e of the sun setting from the train station in Granada moments after writing this...)
