Lifting

If you are depressed you are living in the past.
If you are anxious you are living in the future.
If you are at peace you are living in the present.
--Lao Tzu


I notice the depression lifting
     as I release my grasp on the past
          and find my footing in the moment.


I relax into the peacefulness of what is
     remembering that my ego has the habit
          of thinking it knows what will make me happy.


That feisty, faulty, friend
     telling scary stories to my vulnerable heart
                 always striving to keep the pain alive.