Artists of Living

“Every moment is unique and discrete.

When our concentration is complete,

we rest completely in the present. Then,

we do not live in time,

we live in eternity.”

~Eknath Easwaran

A Fine Self-Portrait

“Our behavior is controllable in a way that our feelings are not. There is a special satisfaction for the Artist of Living who works within life’s limits to produce a fine self-portrait. The more control we develop over our actions, the more chance we have of producing a self we can be proud of.” ~David K. Reynolds

Living Art

The “Artist of Living.” I LOVE that! We are all artists, producing our own self-portrait. Constructing a self we can be proud of. What a beautiful image. In his book, Constructive Living, David Reynolds shares some practical, purposeful wisdom to help us choose our direction and act upon our choices regardless of our feelings and our obstacles. Living life well starts right now. Over and over and over again with full attention on the present and on the portrait.

Living in Eternity

I finished David’s book yesterday. This morning, I read this gem from Eknath Easwaran. We spend much time thinking about the past and the future, but the past and the future are not real. When we let go of the past and the future, we can begin living more and more in the present. “It is a tremendous realization, for it means that we are released from any burden of guilt about the past and any anxiety about the future.” Then Eknath hits us with this powerful gem, “When...we rest completely in the present...we do not live in time, we live in eternity.” Wow! I had to read that one over and over and over again.

The Ground and the Step

Eknath’s quote brought another piece of wisdom to mind. Lao-Tzu is often quoted as saying, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." but a better translation is "The journey of a thousand miles begins beneath one's feet." THAT is powerful. We begin where we are, in the present. We stand here, now, on the ground beneath our feet with the choice to, as Abraham Maslow would say, step forward into growth or back into safety. So I love the idea of both the ground and the step together. This is presence and this is behavior. Moving forward. Not living in time, rather, living in eternity. Moment to moment to moment, over and over and over again.

Presence and Peace

A final “peace” of wisdom I’ll share from David is this, “The most peaceful people I know have given themselves away...the most miserable people I know have been self-focused...one of the key aims of Constructive Living is to pull your attention away from excessive self-focus and push it outward until you begin to see your self as part of your own surroundings.” Nice! Want peace? Give yourself away. Which reminds me of Jesus in Matthew 10:39 and 16:35, “whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.” What a way to live. Giving and gaining, losing and finding. Again and again, moment to moment, over and over again.

Artists of Living

So here we are, working within life’s limits, painting our self-portraits. As Thomas Keating often discusses in his talks of contemplative prayer, we don’t need to resist, retain, or react to our thoughts, circumstances, and challenges. We simply need to release and return to the present and the Presence. That is a true work of living art. Living, not it time, but in eternity. Starting now. And now. And now. Over and over and over again.