Right here. Right now.

There is no need to go to India or anywhere else to find peace. You will find that deep place of silence right in your room, your garden or even your bathtub. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

In my backyard there is a fountain that spews water from a lion's head. It's noise soothes me throughout the night. The greenery growing up around it quietens my mind throughout the day.

And then I look at the photo I took of it and wish... the black electric cord wasn't visible. What's with that? Damn. I need to go out, hide the cord and then re-take the photo.

But, there's something deeper about the cord and its irritating presence that is so-telling of life. How many times do I look at something, take its value from what I see against what I want to see and ignore the parts that don't fit with my worldview -- until I examine them more closely and realize, it's not as 'perfect' as I thought, in fact, there are parts of it that are downright irritating?

It has to do with 'speed'. Speed of thought. Speed of going through life on overdrive everyday. Speed of wanting satisfaction and not taking the time to breathe in everything about the place, or situation or person to determine, what's the fit? What works for me? What doesn't? What disturbs my peace of mind? What sings to my soul? What grates against the chords of my heart? What breathes deeply into the quiet?

Last week was the first week of my Sounds like Soul meditation class. Everyday, I listen to a selection of pre-organized music, ground myself into the bedrock of the earth, lift my mind up to connect with the universe, breathe deeply and open my heart to 'flow'.

It was a tough and interesting week.

In the exercise of getting quiet, I found myself filled with mind chatter. In the process of grounding, I found my feet heavy and sluggy and wanting to wade through the mud of discord to find the grain of sand that had not hope of becoming a pearl because I just wanted to shove it out and send it spiralling into the universe unformed, unsettled, undigested.

Yup. A disquieting place and yet, a place filled with possibility. A place filled with the essence of being still and silent, where I'm at, not in some other place or distant future, but right here, right now, how I am, where I am.

And in this place right here, right now, I am finding my breath, catching the moment and holding on to nothing but the sheer delight of being right here, right now.

Like the electric cord peeking out from my fountain. This moment is perfect. Just the way it is. I don't need to tuck in the unruly parts or hide away the discord. I only need to breathe into it to find myself perfectly content with where I'm at.

Nameste.

May your day be filled with moments right here, right now, where you are content with where you're at, accepting and aware of discordant themes and open to the silence of your soul.

The question is: Where are you when you're not living it up right here, just the way you are?