Dear Editor: As much as I am a firm believer in hope, I couldn’t help but take note of Father Hemrick’s comment, “And we must wonder what life would be without hope of returning to God after this life” (“Having Hope in 2018,” Jan. 6).

Being a student of yoga for many years, my immediate response was, “Why wait until after this life? Why not return to God during this life, rather than waiting until we die?”

There is a passage from the New Testament that urges us to pursue that union with God in the “here and now,” rather than hoping to achieve it in the “there and then.” Jesus told us, “The kingdom of God is within you.”

If it is within us, that means it’s already “here” rather than something to be attained when we get “there.” We just need to uncover it!

The essence of true yoga practice is to quiet the body so that we can quiet the mind. If our body can’t sit still, how can we possibly hope to have the mind sit still? Our senses are constantly being bombarded with a never-ending volley of stimulation coming at us in the form of emails, texts, TV and the internet. It is only in quieting the mind with all of its thoughts, wanderings, and distractions that we can even begin to approach the kingdom of which Jesus spoke.

One of my yoga teachers compared the mind to a “drunken monkey.” When you stop to think about it, he was right! To sober up the monkey is no simple task, but then again, it’s not an impossible one either.

Jesus told us that the kingdom was here for the taking.

What are we waiting for?

JERRY KUZNIEWSKI

Beechhurst