Present
To be present is to be mentally here, not day dreaming with my mind wandering somewhere else. Getting present is deliberate and it can be my own conscious choice or, if a loud bang occurs I can be brought to the present by that external event. To stay present is also deliberate, like when I am putting together a jigsaw puzzle, intensely concentrating on a rubics cube or trying to find Waldo in one of those complicated pictures
What I decide to be present to is a great thing to notice. Pause and notice and laugh because most of the time I am giving my present moments to the trivial and irrelevant so much so that I can only laugh. People who seem to find success in life are able to stay present to what is important, what works, the positive rather than negative, the goal/prize. Doing this one thing is almost all of their secret to success. Choose what to be present to
To present something, or someone, is way more than to drop it/them off or to point to or to simply place. To present is to highlight, bring positive attention to, adorn and enhance, set a scene. If I present you with my business card I may hold it out for you with both hands and maybe even bow. To be presentable I need to be clean and in good repair, nicely dressed, crisp bright, attentive, almost like royalty
How might it feel to have a report given to you, compared to having it presented to you? If I am receiving a presentation, I am still, paying attention to you and I would guess I might even feel a little bit honoured, like when Grandchildren present their play that they just made up. To give a presentation and to receive it, are special in a way that the parcel found at the door cannot compare with
Christmas, among other things, is a time of presents. When we are present while receiving presents we receive beyond the item being presented. When we give our present from a place of being present, we give beyond the item we present. May all of your presents include your presence, whether you give or you receive.
Blessings