Choose

The nature of mind is this: there is only one thing happening in the world, and it is a bad problem. The nature of reality is this: there are an infinite number of things happening in the world, some are problems, some are moments of great beauty....

But for the most part, all over the earth, people are performing their daily tasks in peace. Mothers are nursing babies. Kids are kicking soccer balls. Birds are singing in forests. Families are gathering to pray and eat and laugh. Young scientists are inventing new sustainable energy technologies. And billions of creatures are sleeping under the silent stars.

Despite the constant barrage of terror generated by the images of corporate media, the vast majority of places on earth are bathed in the light of the ordinary, and at any given moment are at peace. At this instant, a thousand possibilities for kindness surround each of us. Yet, due to the nature of mind, we focus on our toothache, and magnify it, sharing our suffering instead of our love.

Why not say a word of encouragement, give a caress of sympathy, or perform a small task that uplifts someone? Tiny sacraments of beauty are everywhere, but they must be noticed by a quiet mind, and unfolded by hands that choose to love. One act of care in the daylight of the Monday morning world, dispels the mind's endless night.

I am the creator of this moment. I choose beauty.