Aiming for Paradise

“By aiming for paradise, we lose sight of the earth.” (Onfray) Aim for the earth and you will find paradise. (Wells)

Michel Onfray in his critic of monotheism argues that the fixation with a paradisiacal afterlife obstructs us from living fully in this life. He points to all the deliciousness that we miss in the moment by pursuing rewards in the hereafter. The focus on cultivating a place in heaven has been concomitant with neglect and abuse of our home on earth.

If we turn it around and we embrace the earth, we find paradise right here: in the scent of the air, in the relationships at hand, in the flowers blooming in our gardens, in the touch of a lover’s hand or the sound of a child’s voice. Each delicious drop of life on earth is paradise. Savor it.

At our Monday Women’s Authentic Movement group we spent time ‘exploring’ a place that we know. We closed our eyes and conjured that place in our minds. Then we moved in that place, exploring textures and smells and it’s presence. Sally told us about her journey. She explored her driveway and found richness she had forgotten existed: from the plants to the ground to the structure. When we stop and take in the details of a small known place, we can find richness greater than the most romantic getaway.

I invite you step into the place where you are right now. Appreciate the details of your life in this instant. Notice the miracles you have come to take for granted. This is paradise.

This moment is the only one that is guaranteed. You’ve got it now. Embrace it. Stop living for another paradise. Stop living for the time when …. Live now. That is also yoga, the moment of living in the moment. Ram Das said it clearly: Be Here Now.