The Holy Present...

What is the holy present and why is it so hard to stay in it??? Elder Neal A. Maxwell in a devotional talk January 1999, taught the jumping to conclusions takes us away from living in the holy present.

I'm at fault of jumping to conclusions frequently. As a matter of fact, I'm in the middle of doing it right now. There has been a simple lack of communication between me and my brother. I was hoping for a much different result in a situation than I got. Immediately, I jumped to negative conclusions and of course a personal pity party. There is a list of “he should haves...” and I better than box way of being in that I began this, by calling him first. There is also a victim stance in that he should realize I've been sick and taken extra effort because of it.

I can't live in the present little lone the holy present, when I'm living in my own personal Hell. How could I have stayed in the holy present through this situation? I know that my brother has some life challenges. Wouldn't it have been more constructive if I would have considered my brother's life challenges, before jumping to conclusions?

I have wasted unnumbered amounts of time over this. I also wasted someone else's time by expressing how my feelings were hurt over this and of course pouring out the blame. Peace can only be found in the holy present. Even though my brother doesn't know that I've jumped to these conclusions, I still owe him and open and honest apology. I sincerely, love my brother, and know that he is doing everything in his power to support our relationship while juggling his trials and struggles in his own life.