We’re caught by the ghosts
of the past and the future because
we don’t know they’re ghosts.
We think the past is still right here with us,
and we dwell in it.
But if we can smile
to the ghost of the past,
and acknowledge that the
past was there,
but that now it is gone,
then we can have the smile of
enlightenment.
When we smile like that,
it shows
we have love
for ourselves.
We know the past and the future are not our enemies.
We know how to live in this moment we are in right now.
We need to live our daily moments deeply,
as they occur.
When we live
and know that we are living,
this is freedom.
~Thích Nhất Hạnh
(Our Appointment with Life)
