Living in the moment is the new mantra of not only the new age gurus but also of anyone who is on the path of self-development. It is touted as a panacea for many problems we face each day. Living in the moment is one of those ancient truths that was available to certain sectors of society such as priests, psychologists and meta-physicians to name a few. Today this knowledge is accessible to everyone. I am sure many people struggle with art of living in the moment because it is not as easy as it sounds. I do. We are programmed to live anywhere but in the moment. This is maybe, perhaps because of early socialization, evolutionary handles or because human is the only animal as far as we know with the power of thought and imagination that make it possible for us to live in the past, present and future at will. If we check ourselves, we will find that most of our thoughts are located either in the past or the future and the present is forgotten. That does not make sense does it? Why let this rich minefield of awareness slip by, why do we trade reality for fiction. Blame it on the media – we are fed a lot of fiction each day through all the media we are exposed to. Stop and think for a moment who benefits from our living in the past or the future? Certainly not you or me. I would bet its business people who sell us stuff. When we look back we see what we do not have, what’s lacking, what we need more of to feel good, the future provides us with possibilities to – get a new line of credit, go on a vacation, buy a new dress, call a friend up and go eat out, using credit. We need instant gratification to satiate our ever-growing needs. On the other hand, when we focus on now, this moment, you think of what you have and what you should be grateful for. You will find that you need nothing, that there is abundance in your life. When you look around you, and find you are still walking on your two legs, there is no pain, you are alive and breathing, you have food in your cupboard you feel good. Even if you are sick with cancer, full of arthritic pain when you live in the moment, when you think of where you are and what you are doing you feel good. You may say thank you God, I have made it another day. I am still here living and breathing instead of being under the ground cold and hard.
Living in the moment is living your best life. You are guaranteed the moment you live, not the next. Natasha Richardson, the film star who recently died tragically as a result of an insidious accident, is a case in point. I am sure she had lots of plans ahead. I hope she did not live in the future most of the time. Listening to clips of conversations she had in the past leads me to think that her attention was on appreciating her blessings. She talked about liking to spend time with her sons, and cooking for them, taking care of them. She was grateful for her wonderful husband. She enjoyed those precious moments and those moments have made her boys better people. They will feel her presence even when she is not there because of the moments they shared together. Sometimes living in the past could be living in the present if we do it consciously. If we tell ourselves okay, I want to be present with a loved one who has passed away, we invoke their presence in our present and consciously engage our loved one’s spirit and feel the love and feel good.
Take sometime today to enjoy being present with yourself. Acknowledge the moment and do not be frustrated with yourself when you find yourself being pulled back and forward, habits die-hard. Gently return your attention to the moment. The success is in being aware; being conscious of where your thoughts are is what it means to be present. As you practice this regularly, it will become easier for you to control the flow and sway of your thoughts. You will enjoy life and all its abundance.
