In that space, I\u2019ve been contemplating how our willingness to remain in the moment relates to enlightenment or ego, journey or destination, and present or past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I\u2019ve mentioned before, it\u2019s important for me to exercise my spiritual journey, much like my daily jogging. Here are a few takeaways from my new practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Enlightenment or ego?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This is a choice we can all make. A friend once said to me, \u201cDavid, your ego is not your amigo!\u201d Reading Eckhart Tolle and Ryan Holiday\u2019s 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\u2014thoughts. 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Stay present and know this is the way to enlightenment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Journey or destination?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Present or past?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This is yet another important choice we face daily. We may ask: Can I be present and not stuck in the \u201cwhat ifs\u201d of the past? Can I stop wondering what could have been or what I should have done? As my dad once told me,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Those words resonate still today, every day.<\/p>\n\n\n 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\u2014my second of the day. I\u2019d 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\u2019d left it behind. However, I didn\u2019t regret the missed opportunity or dwell on it.<\/p>\n\n\n 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\u2014in the present situation\u2014rather than regretting the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n David Erskine I continue to \u201cexercise\u201d my mind and spirit by reading Stoicism every day, and recently expanded my practice by writing in Ryan Holiday\u2019s The Daily Stoic Journal. The Journal offers a weekly Stoic reading with an opportunity to to answer a question daily. I don\u2019t read the questions in advance, so they continually surprise and intrigue me. More important, the question helps bring me into the present moment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":3822,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[146],"tags":[29,147],"class_list":["post-3821","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-life-lesson","tag-featured","tag-reflection"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/adventure\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/train2.jpg\")
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World Traveler, Poet, Actor, Taxi-Driver, Author, Tech Sales Director, Dipsea Survivor, and Blogger. If you enjoy David\u2019s blogs, check out his book Fifty Poems, Five Decades and Fifty Thousand Miles, available now from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"