I glanced at the calendar today and realized I had to get a new one because the one on the wall is expiring this week. I then looked out the window at the clouds, the snow falling from the sky, and the whiteness of the landscape. Yes, it’s winter in this part of the global community and all kinds of things are expiring, especially my concepts of time, space, who I am, where I’m going, and why I’m here.

I’ve been sitting in between endings and beginnings for years and it’s finally occurred to me that every moment is in between the past and the future. Just as the wave of the past crests, the future takes hold only to be lost in the wave of a new past as it repeats itself over and over again. Does this mean that the past and future only exist in our minds; that every moment is simply a flow of energy like an ever present stream that we’re apart of but think we’re apart from? Is Life simply one endless moment?

It seems, just the other day, that I was sailing with my son and watching the stars with my daughter and yet, it was years and even decades ago. One year slips into another like the moments of a day and we don’t seem to notice until we look a little deeper and realize we’re not who we used to be. Do you still see parts of yourself as you were at age 9 or 22 or 50 or…..? How many lives have you lived since those years. Who have you become here, now, and what is this moment asking of you? Don’t you wonder?

I’m not sure where I picked up the question that titles this vignette, but it’s fascinated me and become part of who I am. I’m asking my Self this question a dozen of times a day. The short pithy answers I receive are amazingly insightful. When I first started asking the inner question, one of the answers was simply “Be still.” What a great answer. Another time I asked the question, the answer came back, “Get up and do the dishes.” All the answers are valuable. The one that makes me smile every time is, “Stop, look, and listen.”

What Does This Moment Ask of Me? Our calculative mind wants to ask questions of the question. Is this moment in the context of now, today, this week, or this season in my life? How big is this moment? What does it include or exclude? Who’s asking and who’s answering? Is this a trick question, a koan, an inquiry, an insight, or just an inconsequential exercise? All these questions completely miss the point.

I rarely make New Year’s resolutions. This year, however, I’m resolving to ask this question of my Self at least once a day, maybe even ten or twenty times a day. Why? Because it has become an important practice of Presence. There’s a timelessness to it that offers rest to digest all that comes and goes, ebbs and flows. A Benevolent Something is drawing me here repeatedly to give Attention to this Intention. What Does This Moment Ask of You? You’ll have to answer it in the moment to find out. Hmm . . .

• Give yourself the gift of this question as you experience this new year. Ponder the question and the answers. Follow the directive and see what comes up. Allow yourself to engage and become friends with this soulful process.
• Here’s a practice run. In this very moment, ask the question, pause, answer it, and follow the directive. What does this moment ask of me?
• This moment is this moment: Here and Now. Start with the small immediate moments and let your soulful presence guide you. Your True Self is trustworthy. Your false self is not. Learn to discern the difference. . . .