Reflect on this. How much of the time are we thinking about things that have already happened (the past)? How much of the time are we thinking about things that haven't happened yet (the future)? I'm guessing about 49.5% of the time we're thinking about things in the past, and about 49.5% of the time we're thinking about things in the future. 99% of our time is spent thinking about things we can't do anything about because they're gone, or they haven't happened yet. A huge majority of our time we're letting our lives slip away because our unruly minds attach to something in the past or in the future. This robs us of our most important asset - the present moment. Now. What is happening here and now.
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| Green River Sunset by Andy Cook |
This breathtaking photo is a location in Utah is just a few hours drive from my home in Salt Lake City. An elusive moment has been captured in this photo. Our lives are full of elusive moments. Day by day we let them slide by without giving them any attention.
The older we get, the more we realize that we don't have that many moments left. How many? Not enough to ignore them by not living our lives to the fullest! Let's squeeze as many of these joyous and amazing moments and savor the juice of them each and every waking moment. We're all facing the big "D". It may be today, it may be tomorrow. Who knows?
Present moment awareness is called "mindfulness". There are several simple ways we can bring our awareness into the present moment. The first one is to pay attention to the breath. Simply watch it. Is it slow, deep, and fulfilling? Life-giving? Is it quick and short and agitated? If it's quick and shallow, slow it down. Feel the breath going in and out of the nostrils. In and out of the belly. Notice that the senses have quickened. Your awareness is heightened. What to you see? What do you hear? What do you sense, taste, smell, or feel?
Another way to tune in to this very moment is to improve your posture. Sit up tall. Stand up tall. Tune in to your body. Are you slumping? Are you leaning on your feet instead of pressing them into the earth? When the posture improves, so does our awareness. Notice how you walk. Do you walk with purpose, or do you drag your body along with no incentive? Notice each step you take. How are you walking? Moving? What kind of surface are you moving on? Practice awareness. Senses become heightened. You are being in the present moment.
The third is to give up taking everything personally. What other people do or say is their problem, don't accept their issues as yours. Let it go. Let it run off your back. It's other people's stuff, not yours. Beware of judgments. Other people's judgments say a lot about them, and nothing about you.
Be fully present when you do your daily tasks. Pay attention when you do the dishes. Notice the beauty in your surroundings when you pull weeds. Feel the satisfaction in the process of keeping your house clean and neat. Don't let a day go by without showing gratitude to someone. Write thank you notes. Tell those close to you that you care deeply about them.
Meditate. Meditation is the single most powerful way to bring us back into the present moment. Within the present moment is the eternal. We can actually touch and experience Divinity within ourselves when we meditate. Simply sit still. Tune in. Become aware of the body. Become aware of the sounds. Become aware of the breath. These techniques are giving us back this moment. Nowhere to be but here. No time to be but now.
The techniques I've mentioned are all free. You don't need a special place, you don't have to have yoga equipment. These techniques can be utilized any time, anywhere. Let's become fully ALIVE! Enjoy the time we have left! Every day is an adventure, a gift. Open it and live!
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