Be where your feet are …
Living in the moments is my truth. It's weird because I have always been a planner. Planning for the next adventure, planning for my husband and my next chapter, planning for my children's future.
Then unspeakable tragedy and cancer happened. Life got very real.
Warrior Two
The right hand is in the past, your left hand the future.
Gaze into the future, have the courage to be here in the present.
There's a lot of doubt in the present: rejection, the possibility of disasters, unexpected situations... Our minds wander. Even in our best efforts, a word or an image can pull us inward and our thoughts can spiral to the past or the future.
Of course, it's natural to spend moments of thought in the past or in daydreams of the future. Identifying upcoming dangers through associations with things that have happened in the past is important for self-preservation. But when our lives become commanded by thoughts and feelings of love, hate, fear, etc. attached to past events and possible future results, standing peacefully rooted in the present becomes rarer. Almost never are we fully "here"; neutrally centered to see through life's lens with clearness finding satisfaction and happiness and understanding in ourselves.
Time, Time, Time...
The idea of time lies to us... making us concerned with its passing. This stops us enjoying this "presence" we feel. We are fooled into remaining in one of two states: The first, one of living in the past and thinking about what has happened. The second, one of waiting for and constantly looking ahead to what is to come, if and when...
Are you so distracted by thoughts of Monday morning that you spoil the time spent with your children on the weekend?
We are all unavoidably victims of time to some degree because it has become the accepted state of the norm in our fast, and highly-strung out world. To constantly reside in this state prevents us enjoying life and finding happiness.
Living in the moment--is a state of active, open, (on purpose) attention on the present. When you become aware, you understand that you are not your thoughts; you become a person who becomes curious of your thoughts without judging them. Careful awareness (some call mindfulness) involves being with your thoughts as they are, neither grabbing at them nor pushing them away. Instead of letting your life go by without living it, you awaken to experience. Helping yourself grow as a person which presents many benefits. Spending a few minutes, a day actively focusing on living in the moment (careful awareness)is believed to reduce stress, boost immunity, reduce long-lasting pain, lowers blood pressure, and helps patients successfully deal with cancer. "Works for me"!
It's also believed "aware" people are happier, more extremely excited, more kind and understanding, and more secure. They have higher self-confidence and are more accepting of their own "weaknesses. Living in the here and now reduces the kinds of behavior that shows lack of self-control and depression, eating too much, and attention problems. Aware people can hear criticism without feeling threatened. They fight less with their partners and as a result, "aware" couples have more happiness in their relationships.
Careful awareness is at the root of yoga. It's why Thoreau went to Walden Pond; it's what Emerson and Whitman wrote about in their essays and poems. "Everyone agrees it's important to live in the moment, but the problem is how," says Ellen Langer, a psychologist at Harvard and author of Mindfulness. "When people are not in the moment, they're not there to know that they're not there." Overriding the distraction reflex and awakening to the present takes intentionality and practice.
Living in the moment involves trusting that the rewards will come.
So, dance like no one is watching, savor in whatever you're doing at the moment, and let go of whatever doesn't serve you. AND........
