” Small voice, what lies ahead?” I ask.

“I’m not a fortune teller,” small voice says. “I am a now-sayer.”

“A now-sayer?”

“Yes, I draw your attention to what’s here right now.”

“But I want to know what lies ahead,” I say.

“What lies ahead depends

on how aware you are of the present moment.”

“Can I discover what lies ahead

by being aware of the present moment?” I ask.

“You can become aware of the next step,”

small voice says.

“Only the next step?

That’s not what I had in mind,” I say.

“I know,” small voice says,

“The mind is never satisfied with ‘only’

and always wants more.”

“So we’re back to that,” I say.

Small voice nods.

I shake my head. “You’ve shifted 

from getting the last word to getting the last nod,” I say.

                                                                                                                                 JDG