A few days ago, I was playing with my two sons. It was a gorgeous afternoon. Sunshine and laughter. The type of scenario that begs for a camera to capture the memory, so that years later this beautiful day can be relived. And in the midst of this picture perfect moment, I was absolutely distracted. I had work on my mind. I was also thinking about how long it had been since I’d written anything for my blog. I was thinking about how stalled I felt in my relationship with God. I was mentally balancing our checkbook and stressing about financial security. And all the while, I was missing out.

In my inability to be present and engaged with my sons, I lost out on what should have been a really great time. In that moment, it shouldn’t have mattered what was next, what was wrong, what could happen. In that very moment, something really great was happening, and all I had to do was be present to experience it fully. It’s depressing to consider how many times my inability to be present has intruded upon and obstructed something God was trying to show me or share with me.

“You are always here. There is no there.”

Those profound words were shared by Jon Kabat-Zinn, a leading practitioner of mindfulness.  He was addressing employees at Google’s headquarters at the time, guiding them through a workshop on meditation and mindfulness. He called for them to “inhabit now”. According to Kabat-Zinn, when we are trying to hard to solve a problem or to make sense of our circumstances, we sometimes just need to stop, to go beyond thinking and pushing and forcing our way to the solution. Just stop. Inhabit the moment. Be present.

I’ve had to stop myself a lot lately. When my journey to a closer relationship with God isn’t going as smoothly as I had hoped, when it isn’t progressing at a fast enough clip to satisfy my impatience, I find myself forcing the issue. Feeling a desperate frustration that drives me mad, the same way it feels when you’re late for something important and stuck in traffic on the interstate, bumper to bumper, and you feel trapped and you want to pull at your hair and act crazy just for a moment.

I have to remind myself to stop striving for the end result I’m after and be present. In Matthew 6:34 it says, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Yes, today has its own trouble to deal with, so don’t go borrowing trouble from tomorrow. But in addition to worry, today has its own power. Today, I can be in perfect union with God. Today, I can find refuge in God. Today, I can engage in a meaningful exchange with God. I can find truth, insight, hope, guidance, mercy. Even as I continue to work on being the man God wants me to be. Even as I wrestle with my idols, my wounds, my sins. Today, I can have peace. If I can be present.

Luke 17:21 says that, “the kingdom of God is within you.” In other words, you are always here. There is no there. All you need is to be present and to inhabit the moment.