Be Thy Self - Reflection on Mindful Presence

Out and about and saw this place. I wonder what stories this old home holds…

Be Thy Self
Regret is but a shadow cast
By fears that whisper from the past
A longing for what can't return,
A lesson we have yet to learn
And worry too, its silent thread,
Spins stories in the mind,
Of days not lived, of times to be,
A future shaped by false prophecies.

But in this moment, still, aware
There is no weight of past to bear,
No future storms, no veils to clear,
No "what if" voice, no need to fear.

For now is whole, and now is true,
A boundless sky in timeless hue.
All things are one thing, no "you" or "I",
No place to run, no need to try.
Be thy self, and you shall find
No prison walls within the mind.
Just breath and being, pure and free,
Right now is eternity.

So lets talk about it! Regret and the past, worry and the future, mindful presence, unity and transcendence, liberation through being...

“Be Thy Self ” invites the readers to step away from mental constructs rooted in regret (the past) and worry (the future), and instead embrace the eternal now as a place of liberation.

The poem opens with the metaphor of regret as a shadow, suggesting that it has no substance of its own. It’s a byproduct of inner fear and mental rumination. The phrase “a longing for what can't return” highlights the futility of longing for the past and the unresolved lessons it may hold. Worry is presented as an internal narrative engine that projects imagined futures, robbing us of present joy. Both regret and worry are forms of mental time-travel, neither grounded in actual experience.

We can think of the present moment as a sanctuary. The self dissolves into the boundless now, where effort-ing is no longer needed and identity is transcended. Freedom is not found in controlling time, thought, or outcomes, but in simply being. The present is described not as a fleeting second, but as eternity itself. A paradoxical insight.

This poem is a gentle call to awaken. It doesn’t preach or instruct, but rather reminds you that true freedom lies not in past accomplishments or future plans, but in the simplicity of being here, now.