I Have Arrived, I Am Home

Like a lot of New Yorkers, I'm a busy person!  Rushing from place to place, answering endless emails, Facebooking, Instagraming, Twittering, drinking coffee, attending meetings, scheduling, writing a class outline while riding the subway, planning dinner while walking to work. 

When I get lost in this busy mind, it's hard to break loose - my thoughts flow one to the next in a never-ending stream of associations.   Sometimes I miss my stop or even forget where I'm going.  Where am I?  

The best way to recognize where I am is to ask myself "What's happening in my body?"  Using mindfulness, I pay attention to everything that I can physically feel;  that my feet are cold, that the sun is warming my skin, I can hear the cars honking, and my stomach is churning.  My body and its sensations are always now - not in the past or the future. Feeling my feet I realize Oh!  Here I am!  I guess I wasn't lost at all. 

I have arrived, I am home

In the here, In the now

I am solid, I am free

In the ultimate I dwell

Thich Nhat Hanh