On presence

What does it mean to be present in one’s own life?

I think there are degrees of presence, and we are all present to a certain extent.

It is also a matter of distance. A more present person inhabits a different space than a less present one — and vice versa.

I believe that pondering, reflecting, tasting questions on the palate of one’s mind — and thus avoiding answering them right away — opens something in people. Feeling one’s body opens something too. Sheer life experience opens something. That opening (which is actually synonymous to the "something") makes a person more present in their own life.

Or maybe some people are born curious and others are not. Or maybe, by practicing curiosity — even if one is not naturally curious — something opens.

I automatically think of old people as more present, despite the fact that many have never truly lived. And what is presence without life?

It must be all about life. Pondering, reflecting, tasting, feeling one’s body — that is, consciously experiencing — makes one feel more alive. Aliveness is presence.

What does it mean to be alive in one’s own life?

[Photo above by Carlos A. Segovia]