Be Present

"Be Present. I would encourage you with
all my heart-just to be present. Be
present and open to the moment that
is unfolding before you. Because, ulti-
mately, your life is made up of moments.
So don't miss them by being lost in the
past or anticipating the future.
Don'r be absent from your own life.
You will find that life is not goverened by
will or intention. It is ultimately the
collection of these sense memories stored
in our nerves, built up in our cells.
Simple things: A certain slant of light coming
through a window on a winter's afternoon.
The sound of spring peepers at twilight.
The taste of a strawberry still warm
from the sun. Your child's laughter.
Your mother's voice. "

Jessica Lang's 2008 commencement
address to the graduates of
Sarah Lawrence College