Here

Recently life called for a trip to the mall.  I do not often visit said venue and did not know my way around.  My goal was one specific merchant.  I promised the eldest of my progeny we would find that exact store to buy an item she located online.  Gratefully near each multi-doored glass entrance stood a kiosk displaying the layout of the mall, its corridors, eateries and shops.  On the plot was a list of places and a magnificent red arrow proclaiming YOU ARE HERE.  Knowing the place I stood and from which I must begin the retail journey was essential to finding my destination.  You are here brought clarity I sometimes long for outside the mall.

 

Here is defined as a noun at dictionary.com. 
1.  this place:  It’s only a short distance from here.
2.  this world, this life; the present:  The here and the hereafter are equal mysteries to all people.

I included the example sentences because I laughed at the second entry:  too funny that the dictionary in this case offers the mystery of life, sharing my vibe of confusion in finding one’s way through existence sometimes.  How totally awesome would it be to get an overview, a map, to show YOU ARE HERE providing perspective of the places to which one might go and the safety of seeing exactly where we stand?

My humanness craves bearings, confirmation of my future steps.  I know this is an offshoot of fear.  Fear of being lost, going the wrong way, making a mistake, fear of taking a path that leads nowhere.  A map seems like just the thing to keep folks on track.        

What might be maps?  Wise leaders?  Ancient texts?  Philosopher’s thoughts?  Poetry?  Yoga?  Certainly these things introduce me to faith, Truth, my Self, my fears, my attachments.  They extend guidance in finding contentment in the present moment which, while not a kiosk bearing a printed guide, offers release from fear that manifests as longing for a map.  We can learn to be here in each moment knowing where we want to go but letting go of the outcome.  If we can be fully in the present perhaps our steps will unfold naturally showing surprises of arrival much like the unpredicted bakery smells of Aunt Annie’s pretzel bakery in the mall that were not on the map but just happened along the path.

I have heard it said that the opposite of love is fear.  We are here.  Which way is the best way to go?  The one that acknowledges our fear but does not let it keep us from moving.

There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly
what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear
and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable.
There is another theory which states that this has already happened.
                                                                                                - Douglas Adams

From there to here, and here to there, funny things are everywhere. 
                                                                                                - Dr. Seuss