Lots is said about living in the present moment, but often it seems to be a vague concept, hard to apply to daily life.

Today, I’m choosing to apply that by starting over with what I have, and who I am, right here, right now.

Did I fail at something repeatedly over the course of my 36 years? Doesn’t matter. I’m starting over.

Did I used to have a job that I did well for a few years? Doesn’t matter. Today I can choose to do something different.

Do I wish that I had spent more time on a hobby that I enjoy? I could beat myself up for not doing more of it, or I could start over and choose to spend time on it today.

Did I let my blog go without updates for a few months? Okay. Fine. I could avoid it because I feel guilty about the lag, and live in the past, or I could decide right here, right now, to post an update – just because I feel like it.

The perfectionist part of me says, “What you have to say right now is not very inspiring, and you don’t have the perfect wording worked out. Better wait.”

I don’t need to have everything worked out in advance to be able to start something right now. So I choose to sit down and write. I choose to break the cycle of procrastination and guilt.

I choose to do something right now, no matter how small or insignificant. Because doing nothing is even more insignificant.

In the documentary FIERCE LIGHT: WHERE SPIRIT MEETS ACTION, Julia Butterfly Hill talks about finding hope. She says, “It’s not about something later on – it’s who I’m showing up as, right here, right now, every moment of every day. And that’s the only place hope lives.”

Too often we place our hope in the future, or hope to get rid of something that has been a part of our past. The only place that hope can live is right now, in what we choose to think, be or do, in this present moment. I can’t control the future, but I can control who I am right now. And by being the person I want to be, I have a much better chance of creating the future I want, out of the essence of who I am.

Today I choose to show up and do what I can. Today I choose to let my light shine, in each moment, by being the change I want to see in the world.