The Present Moment and the Enneagram Part 3
June 18, 2026
The Present Moment and the Enneagram Part 3
Yesterday, I moved my patronage to a new pharmacy because my old one had become too crowded and busy. Refreshingly, this new drugstore was as quiet as a library, just as I was told it would be. There was only one customer at the prescription counter, so I waited my turn to address the lady behind the counter whose eyes never left the computer screen in front of her. Without looking at me, she said "May I help you?" I said to her, “May I speak with you for a moment, please?” With her eyes still on the screen, she said, "Yes." Then I thought to myself, "Am I going to have to talk to the back of a computer screen if I use this drugstore?”
Then I told her, I mean I told the back of the screen, that I wanted to move my pharmaceutical business to this store. She took her head from behind the screen, introduced herself, and began talking to me face to face.
She joined me in being present. We had a productive talk and got to know each other. We ended the conversation with a sense of how we will work as a client and pharmacy in the future. She had definitely not been present at our initial encounter. But when she decided to be present, she was very present, very engaged and let the conversation flow naturally.
We have all been preoccupied like the young pharmacy employee was. Sometimes we are finishing things up and inadvertently ignore others; we are lost in our own worlds, we are looking at a movie in our mind's eye, we are rehearsing past and future conversations, or we are doing other things with our body, emotions, and mind, and are checked out of the moment.
In presence, we cannot be in two places at the same time. Presence is like a flashlight's one round beam. If we look at what that round beam is trained on, we see what we could not have seen in the dark. And if we take our eyes off the beam, we cannot see what’s in the dark. Presence is like that light. It is one beam that shines as we live in the now, exposing multitudes of things that arise in every millisecond. And we must be in the beam of presence to really experience the moment and to prevent returning to the darkness of "un-presence."
Spiritual Practice
Create a mantra that will bring you into presence. It can be a word or a phrase. It can be something you make up, or it can be from other’s writings. A mantra is a beautiful introduction to mediation. It also is a wonderful re-set button to become present in a demanding world.
Inquiry
What are three reasons why I would prefer to concentrate on two things at the same time?
Prayer
Dear God, I pray that you will let this little light of mine shine, shine, shine. Amen.
