The Power of Your Presence

 “The Truth is That The Only Power There is, is Contained Within This Moment – Its The Power of Your Presence”

Eckhart Tolle[1]

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Starting from my earliest years. I had an issue with concentrating. This was especially so with my school-work, and its related companion – homework.

But the poor concentration also appeared in my day-to-day activities. Typical of my (unknown at the time) ADD condition. I would embark on an activity. And in the course of doing so, my attention would be distracted from what I was doing by something else and without realizing it, I would slip into another activity.

Let me give you an example here; I decided to polish my shoes and realized I needed a soft cloth to shine them. In walking to the kitchen to find a soft cloth in one of the cupboards, I noticed a school book of mine lying on the dining room table. I would be in trouble with my mother for leaving my book ‘lying around!’ So, I pick up the book and take it to my bedroom and put the book away. In doing so, I noticed my school uniform was lying partly on my bed and partly on the floor! This is punishment material so; I hang up the reusables and take the rest through to the laundry basket in the bathroom. Oh! I need to mention, In this process, I noticed my unfinished shoes lying on my desk. Don’t laugh, This really happened to me – all the time.

When I became a parent, my two sons suffered from a similar dysfunction. Our family doctor prescribed a drug called Ritalin, this helped them through their studies and lifestyle.

But of course, it was a little too late for me to go onto Ritalin. However, my saving grace was being diagnosed by a medical professional and setting up a strategy for my life. The Doctor encouraged me by telling me that many people and a number of celebrities had the same condition. This strategy was aided by ET’s philosophy: ‘The truth is that the only power I have is contained within this moment now, the power of my presence.’ In other words, the power of focusing on what I am doing now. I have no power today over yesterday’s or tomorrow’s activities. Today I am not able to change anything that I did yesterday or will do tomorrow.

I put my all into what I am doing now. As I write this piece, it has not only my full attention. But also, my full emotions as well. I have written this knowing it’s the truth and the only power for me to write effectively.



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[1] Eckhart Tolle The Power of Now journal

Please Note:

Earlier parts of this series can be found here.

You will have noticed in this series that I reference “The Power of Now Journal – Eckhart Tolle.” The Power of Now Journal is just that: a journal whose pages are not numbered. The commentary you read on this page is a record of my personal experience arising from Eckhart’s comments on the relevant pages of the journal. With its dynamic wisdom, this beautifully printed book is available from Amazon. I feel confident that if you have read my piece, you will enjoy this delightful journal, even if you don’t usually keep or never have kept a journal.

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[1] The Power of Now Journal – Eckhart Tolle

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