"To the ego, the present moment hardly exists. Only past and future are considered important. This total reversal of the truth accounts for the fact that in the ego mode the mind is so dysfunctional. It is always concerned with keeping the past alive, because without it - who are you?"
~ Eckhart Tolle
I was listening to NPR this morning, and heard a clip from Story Corps about a man who has Alzheimer's and his wife. He's beginning to lose his memory. He says he lives in the moment now by default, because he may not remember what happened ten minutes ago. She said that they talk about who a person really is at their essence, and that it's not their memories or their cumulative story. Who you really are runs more deeply that that.
So often, our memories hold us back. That "story" we tell ourselves about our histories, the ways we've been wronged, the things we've learned along the way -- they keep us rooted in what was, or what wasn't or what could never have been. They re-victimize us over and over again, or limit us or keep us closed off from a greater truth. The truth, for me, is that I am a unique expression of Divine Perfection, capable of anything and open to all possibilities. I release any story that conflicts with that truth.Labels: alzheimer's, eckhart tolle, Lezli Goodwin, memory, NPR, story