Fear is a trickster. It convinces us that it protects us from some horrible future. It makes us believe we couldn’t possibly survive without it. That we need Fear to stay alive.

Fear pushes out compassion and empathy for strangers. Fear doesn’t allow room for connection. It causes the divisiveness of me versus you and us versus them. It calls us to hoard and amass way more than we need. Fear convinces us that this is necessary to survive.

Fear is the hair-trigger impulse to react without thought and lash out. It screams, “Fight, get angry and be big, loud and scary!” It convinces us that if we make others fear us, we’ll be safe.

Fear perpetuates itself without satiation. With fear, there is never enough, everyone is an enemy and we must stay on constant alert for a worst case scenario.

Fear lives in the future. It feeds off our imagination and sucks our energy. It’s a parasite that seduces its host away from the reality of here and now.

Right now – each of us is safe. Right now, each of us is alive. Right now, in this moment, we can manage THIS moment.

Right now, there is enough. In this moment, there is space for empathy, compassion, love and connection.

In the present moment, we have all that we need…and many of us, myself included, have more than we need.

Right now, we can find Peace. It is inside us if we look for it. It is around us in the drops of rain pattering on the ground…the birds chirping and cawing…the clouds moving and changing shape along the sky…and the trees standing firm and strong with outstretched branches saying, “be still and simply be.”

In presence and stillness we find our center, our place of peace and calm. In this space, we are wise beyond measure. Love abounds here. Compassion is our friend. Connection is our calling.

We can always handle each moment as it comes. Only in each moment may we calmly prioritize whatever action or inaction needs to happen at that moment.

The future does not exist except for in our minds. All that exists is RIGHT NOW.

So I invite you to get still, go inward, take a few mindful breaths, and ask yourself, “What do I need right now in this precise moment?” And then do that. And when the next moment arises, ask again…and again…and again.

You will always have the right answer for right now and the ability to adjust according to each moment.

May each of us find our center, our stillness, our peace and our presence. And may we act with compassion for both ourselves and others as a connected and unified body of Love.

Feel free to share this with whoever could use some peace and presence right now.