Focus

I had this great insight yesterday, nothing new or novel but just that flash on insight that happens and reminds you that every insight needs to be rediscovered in the next moment rather than tucked away as something I already know.

I was thinking about life and all the various factors and components and how everything is constantly changing and shifting. I just realized how much I tend to focus on what is lacking in my life rather than what I have. Living in Lao I have missed family and friends a great deal and missed having a romantic relationship, yet when I go back to the states, am around family and friends and am in a new relationship, I will be wishing I were traveling or having some adventure or trying something new. We always want what we don't have and tend to focus our energy on that rather than on all the amazing things we do have to celebrate.

I am living in an amazing country, I've made amazing friends and learned a great deal. I have plenty of money, shelter, food and people who love me, even if they're halfway around the globe. Gratitude, to me, seems to be the simple act of shifting this focus from what's supposedly lacking to all that is. Focusing on what is and appreciating it for what it is.

But then again, to go even further than that, is to realize that I'm complete and whole just as I am without any need for external things at all. Accept and relishing my perfection in this moment without stipulation or adjustment, just as it is.....in every moment.