to live fully
and peacefully
wisely and lovingly
to be here, now
in this moment
to end the tyranny
of the loop of stories
that run endlessly
in your head
dragging you backwards
to what no longer exists
to let the dangling carrot
of some mythical future
fall helplessly to the ground
there is but one key
that unlocks the door
it was the wise
krishnamurti who said
‘i don’t mind what happens.’
it was my wife who said
‘cherish everything.’

i took both of them seriously
and even though
these phrases hurt like hell
when i applied them
and my mind screamed ‘NO!’
i did it over and over
and eventually
even my tyrannous mind
went quiet
and i began to cherish everything
and even the horror of it all
became included.

so now i have a mantra,
a simple phrase i use
when the monkey
on my back starts whispering
‘this shouldn’t be happening.’

‘cherish everything,’ i say
and he shuts up.