Marcus Aurelius said “Stoic joy isn’t about the delights of the senses or material pleasure. Joy is being kind to others.” To that end, the question for this day was. ”What if I stopped caring what others thought?” My response was as follows: Life would be more joyful. I would find myself living in the present more and more. I would have less resentment and grievance because I would not care what something or someone did to me. I think worrying about what others think or say for that matter is really about the ego. Also, caring what others think is either living in the past or being afraid of the future. Finally, whatever your Higher Power might be, surrender to it and embrace joy.

“Test Your Impressions”  theme asks a new question each day of the week for morning and evening reflection. Epictetus said “First off, don’t let the force of the impression carry you away. Next, examine and test it by the rules you possess, whether it belongs to the things in our control or not in our control.” The question for this day was: ”How do my judgements cause me anguish? My response was as follows: When I judge myself or others, it is a slippery slope. I am trying to practice accepting myself without judging others, including friends, and also not judging myself. Control what I can control and let go of the rest. Remember what I cannot control… the weather, politics, bullies etc. It is nothing to me. At this moment as I look at blue skies everywhere and a lush green Mount Tamalpais with a beautiful ridgeline, I can choose to focus on that at this moment. I can control the present moment by surrendering to it.

“Count Your Blessings” theme asks a question. Marcus Aurelius also said, “It’s easy to complain about the things missing in our lives, and so much harder to appreciate how much we already have.”

Epictetus followed by saying. “Without gratitude what is the point of seeing, and without seeing what is the object of gratitude?” The question for this day was. “How am I creating momentum for my good habits?” I believe in getting up every day and embracing my morning routine of stretching and salutations. Next up is exercising and enlightenment. This could be a jog, a bike ride or Bikram yoga, because it centers me and drops me into nature mentally and physically. Also, I practice being present as much as possible and letting go of fears of the things I cannot control. Challenge myself daily by confronting uncertainty, guilt, and fear. Indeed, the key is counting my blessings every day!

David Erskine: World Traveler, Poet, Actor, Taxi-Driver, Author, Tech Sales Director and Dipsea Survivor.

Also, if you enjoy my writings, check out my new book available now on Amazon and Barnes and Noble entitled “Fifty Poems, Five Decades and Fifty Thousand Miles.”

The post Practice True Joy appeared first on Traveling Boy.

I continue to “exercise” my mind and spirit by reading Stoicism every day, and recently expanded my practice by writing in Ryan Holiday’s The Daily Stoic Journal. The Journal offers a weekly Stoic reading with an opportunity to to answer a question daily. I don’t read the questions in advance, so they continually surprise and intrigue me. More important, the question helps bring me into the present moment.

In that space, I’ve been contemplating how our willingness to remain in the moment relates to enlightenment or ego, journey or destination, and present or past.

As I’ve mentioned before, it’s important for me to exercise my spiritual journey, much like my daily jogging. Here are a few takeaways from my new practice.

Enlightenment or ego?

This is a choice we can all make. A friend once said to me, “David, your ego is not your amigo!” Reading Eckhart Tolle and Ryan Holiday’s Stoic wisdom, they would both agree. This also ties into being present in every possible way, every day. Try to let the countless thoughts just be only that—thoughts. We control which thoughts to act on. More importantly, we control which ones drag us back to the past, hold onto a wrong or grievance, or worry and fear about the future. All of these can be ego calling us.

Stay present and know this is the way to enlightenment.

Journey or destination?

In 1973-1974, I took a trip from Istanbul to New Delhi with eight other travelers. Two people were from France, two from Australia, two from the U.S., and another from England. We all met in Crete and decided somewhat spontaneously to make the trip. Yes, the destination was India, but it was the journey that changed all of us at that time, perhaps forever.

Getting there required a 90-hour train ride from from Istanbul to Tehran, bus rides through Afghanistan, a taxi through the Khyber Pass, and yet another bus to New Delhi. Each part of the journey was an experience in itself that I can visualize to this day. I went to India to find my way forward, so I could return to America with clarity of purpose and spiritual enlightenment. Instead, the journey became a lesson in staying present, living day to day, and each step of the way. Seeing the Taj Mahal in all its magnificence and splendor at one moment, for example, and then from the Taj, witnessing the poverty only a few hundred yards away, put the world into context.

Present or past?

This is yet another important choice we face daily. We may ask: Can I be present and not stuck in the “what ifs” of the past? Can I stop wondering what could have been or what I should have done? As my dad once told me,

Those words resonate still today, every day.

Recently, I was driving in Sausalito, California, directly across the Bay from San Francisco. From there, you can actually see San Francisco at eye level, which is a unique experience. As I was driving, I saw a rainbow—my second of the day. I’d seen one earlier while riding my bike along the Bay. At that point I wished I had my phone to capture the moment, but I’d left it behind. However, I didn’t regret the missed opportunity or dwell on it.

Ninety minutes later, as I drove my car, I saw another rainbow. I stopped my car, took a photo and shared it with my daughter. She remarked on how special it was. This only happened because I remained in the moment—in the present situation—rather than regretting the past.

David Erskine
World Traveler, Poet, Actor, Taxi-Driver, Author, Tech Sales Director, Dipsea Survivor, and Blogger. If you enjoy David’s blogs, check out his book Fifty Poems, Five Decades and Fifty Thousand Miles, available now from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

The post Enlightenment or Ego? appeared first on Traveling Boy.

The great Eckhart Tolle says we only really have the present moment. Yet, we can easily get caught up in “psychological” time by reliving and re-litigating the past. Conversely, we constantly anticipate the future and live each day focused on what might or might not happen tomorrow.  Thinking on this leads me to a couple of other questions:

• How does dwelling on memories or getting stuck in the anticipation of tomorrow impact the moment we’re in now?
• What do these habits do to the canvas we can paint in each precious moment?

Many people think about “staying” in the moment. I think, instead, it’s more active. We must travel into the present.

Ways to travel into the present

Perhaps you’re interested in joining me on this journey. If so, here are three tips that help me navigate the path to that meaningful “now” between the past and the future:

1.  Embrace What Is.  Think about how we structure our day. Maybe we’re working full-time, managing a business, getting a degree, or raising a family. All of these require a daily game plan.  Over the years, I’ve learned to create that plan during exercise (usually jogging) for 30 minutes each morning before I start my day. As I jog, my mind clears, and I move into the present.  As my heart and lungs are getting their day started, so is my mind.  Oddly enough, this simple activity has often prepared me for the inevitable unexpected events in this thing called life.
2. Accept What Is.  As Eckhart Tolle has said, “When you accept what is, every moment is your best moment.  This is Enlightenment.” This, too, has become my daily practice and meditation.  It takes practice, but the good news is that we can practice it repeatedly.  We breathe continually without thinking about it. Like the lungs, the brain is an organ, but instead of breathing, it constantly generates thousands of thoughts.  We may continue to get caught up with each thought.  However, we do get to choose which thoughts to act on.  That is the key.
3. Gratitude and Giving. I learned recently that recovery programs encourage writing a gratitude list every day. I started this practice recently and found it uplifting and easy, requiring just a few minutes. It’s also another way to journey into the present moment. It inspired me to do ten good deeds every day. These are often simple things like saying hello to a fellow jogger or thanking my Bikram yoga teacher for a great class.

My favorite, however, is making others laugh.  I have a boatload of clean dad jokes that I tell the local barista, cashier, or others I see every week.  Seeing a smile on someone’s face brings joy.  I have been doing this for so long that when I go to my coffee shop, they tell me jokes or ask for the joke of the day.

Find your way of bringing joy, and the return will be tenfold.  And here is YOUR dad joke of the day:
What’s your favorite thing about Switzerland?  I don’t know, but the flag is a Big Plus!

David Erskine

World Traveler, Poet, Actor, Taxi-Driver…Blogger

The post Travel Into the Present appeared first on Traveling Boy.