“Life can be found only in the present moment. The past is gone, the future is not yet here, and if we do not go back to ourselves in the present moment, we cannot be in touch with life.” -Thich Nhat Hanh

Living in the present moment is a relief. The world makes sense just as it is, there is no trying to fashion it to fit your ideas of what it should look like or how things will turn out. There is just the immediacy of the people you are with and the space you are occupying. The workshop at The Tulip Gallery, one of our favorite sex positive customers, was warm and intimate with a wide range of conversations about everything from love oil to enduring intimacy to oral sex. The shop was full of the highest quality and beautiful sexual aids of all kinds and I felt proud to have our products showcased there.

Giving up my idea of how things are supposed to look in a bigger way about my future as an author and speaker is an even greater relief. Coming down to where things are and letting them be just as they are now is the only path to a sane life. Truly, the pressure I put on myself to achieve recognition and exposure for the book was making me sick and taking the fun out of the entire process. Over and over, I keep learning the secret joy to taking things lightly.

There is little that wakes you up to surrendering to the present moment like traveling does. From the 5 am departure to the neon colored passage at the O’hare airport, life is a sensory experience when you are on your own out in the world. Finding my way into big cities has been one of the added benefits of growing Good Clean Love and although I resist before I leave, finding myself on my own and confident of how to get where I need to go is a nice way to see myself. I remember myself in these present moments and I re-learn how good it feels to be with just me.

I don’t know how many times I will have to learn and forget this lesson about staying present and letting things be as they are. Each time it feels more like a coming home to not only the truth of the moment, but the truth of me. The Buddha remarked that “The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.”

It is working for me tonight.