This passage from Ajahn Sumedho is short and to the point – start with seeing things as they are.
I was speaking with a friend about this earlier tonight and was reminded of some teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh. He reminds us we have so many positive conditions to consider and be grateful for and then asks: how many more conditions do we need in order to be happy?
If we spend the present moment dwelling on some other place or time, we’ll miss the present moment, and how likely will that be in bringing about happiness or changing conditions?

To practice we must see exactly where we are. Of course we can always imagine perfect conditions, how it should be ideally, how everyone else should behave. But it’s not our task to create an ideal. It’s our task to see how it is and to learn from the world as it is. For the awakening of the heart, conditions are always good enough. Ajahn Sumedho … Read More

via Mindfulbalance Blog