Why am I so seldom satisfied with where I am?

Why does over there always appear more enchanting than right here?

Why is it that I look forward to vacation…make plans…detailed plans…imagine the fun, the relaxation I’m going to have…the stuff I’m going to do or not do and the consequential rejuvenation I’m going to feel getting away. Then, after months of planning, nights of dreaming, the vacation comes…and…

…it is anything but what I imagined?

I think I’ve lived a good portion of my life – and, you probably have, too – looking for something beyond that could only ever be found beneath.

I have long suspected the real reason religious people look for heaven out there is because they’ve given up hope of ever knowing one here. In fact, I’m pretty sure the more you wish for something to come, the more you’ve lost of what’s arrived already.

You don’t have to agree with my thoughts. You can keep looking, longing, and living for something that isn’t. Good luck with that.

Or, you can begin living instead…living INTO what is.

Mark Nepo puts it like this: “Here is always beneath there.”

What you “believe” matters. And, a lot of the stuff you and I were taught to “believe” is just plain wrong.

So I’ve been trying to question everything in the last few years. For example, whenever I feel discontented, I take pause and remind myself that what I’m looking for out there is the contentment I could know right here.

Here’s another example: whenever I feel disconnected from God, I know what I’m really missing is a deep connection to myself.

Why?

Because God lives in me, my friend…she lives in you, too. So, get this: you can’t get much closer than that.

If you cannot feel God here…

…there’s a pretty good chance you’re looking there.