“… to be truly alive is to be deeply immersed in this moment …” ~ Robert Rabbin
This poem about authentic life is from Robert Rabbin’s book:The 5 Principles of Authentic Living: How to Live an Authentic Life in 10 Words.
“In the following pages, I share with you what I call The 5 Principles of Authentic Living, which represent nearly 50 years of studying my mind and my self from various perspectives and methods. These principles comprise 10 simple words, two words per principle. They are my scripture, the book I use to live an authentic life. Ten words? That’s it? Yes. Ten words. One word every five years. Fifty years: five principles set out in 10 words …
The 5 Principles of Authentic Living are the nuggets I have collected from 50 years of panning and sifting for gold in streams and rivers throughout the world and within myself. I am very happy to share them with you.” ~ from the Preface by Robert Rabbin
The Authentic Life
to live authentically, to be truly alive
is to be deeply immersed in this moment
in love with and connected to existence
this moment is not the moment we imagine
not the moment of our thoughts and beliefs about this moment
but this moment, as it is
shocking and sudden, overflowing with energy and surprise
this moment of light and stillness
this moment of beauty and silence
its seams are bursting with miracle and more
what is this moment
it is the intersection of time and eternity
a collision in which no thoughts, concepts, or beliefs survive
to confuse the mind
it is the pure state of the heart opened wide towards all
filling us with wonder and awe
here we are, in this endless existence
we have no center, no beginning, no ending
our center is everywhere
we begin and end here and there, and here again
this life is more open than the sky and heavens
in this openness there is no fear, no hiding, no secrets
nothing to protect, nothing to project
everything lives without prejudice
without hatred, without violence
this instant as it is, in silence
is the authentic moment, the authentic life.
~ Robert Rabbin
Images: 1 and featured) Contemplation by Jeff P, CC BY 2.0, 2) Red-guava by HironmoiBorah, CCO Public Domain.
