please play along,
what is present right now?

attention scans about
and becomes aware
of something

hurray for attention
it discovers without fail
something

some experience,
a body sensation maybe,
a sound, a feeling …
could be anything

attention pauses
and moves on
to the next experience
free and smooth

looking closer
what can be noticed?

often the mind narrates
the experience to itself:
“oh, this tastes good, it’s better than yesterday, i like it…”
in endless variations

the mind compares,
likes and dislikes,
judges from its banks of memory

often the narration
becomes more important
than the freshness of the present moment

attention is placed on narration
no longer listening to what is

the moment becomes veiled by words
by comparisons, likes and dislikes,
assumptions, expectations, beliefs…

imagine your lover would greet you like this
never seeing you as you are
right now
only a veiled version,
their historic version of you

being with, listening,
accepting without commentary,
without boredom,
seems to be quite difficult