This is one of the most underrated topics because none of us cares if we’re living in the present or not. And believe me, living in the present moment is one the most beautiful things one can embrace and at the same time it is one of the most difficult things to do.
We, people, are busy making expectations from the future and regretting the past so we’re missing out on appreciating the beauty of today. We don’t realize that we’re losing moments in the blink of an eye. The journey of EMBRACING THE PRESENT is one of the most fulfilling journeys one can ever undertake.
Why NOW, not THEN?
The mind of all of us tends to get lost in the haunting memories of the past and anxiety related to the future. All of us are having issues in life but most of us are having issues because we’re not living in today.
Now why live in the present and not roam in the past or future? Because when we enter into a state which has already been over then we find ourselves in a painful state. Maybe because we can no longer live that sweet memory or might have done something wrong in the past.
We often think and worry about things over which we have no control. Such as past mistakes and anxiety related to the future. But the only thing we have control over is the present. Because it solely can make a better life.
More the efforts in the present, the better the results in the future. And yes not forgetting the fact that it will take us out of the past.
Finding Joy in the Ordinary
The worst part of not living in the present is missing out on cherishing everyday bliss. No matter how hard a day we have, there will be something that has happened to us worth praising.
But that is the thing we never pay attention to. Because we’re busy complaining about the hard day, who cares about a single bliss?
Why not see that hard day differently? What if we live the moment when we’re having hard times keeping a thought in mind that it shall pass too and will teach us something outstanding?
If we’re frequently wandering into the past or future, then something is missing in the present. Now what if we make the present a little interesting or worth it? Because one day our present will also become a past so why let our past become a bad past?
Finding Peace Amidst Life’s Phases
We forget the fact that every phase of life has its positives and negatives. And when we’re struggling in the present then the first thing we remember is the past with all the good memories and ignoring the bad ones.
Likewise, living in the future would also not do any good because the future will also not be perfect.
Past had good and bad memories. The moment we see the good side we’ll get sad as we can no longer embrace the moment and if we see the bad side the mistakes we made in the past will make us full of regrets.
Present itself is a blessing but by the time we realise it, it already becomes past by that time. If we can just truly embrace the present then we’ll see there is peace in present, unlike any other state.
The present has a lot of potential and is the only state that can be changed. Now the question would be how to live in the present moment. So let’s learn that…
Practical Tips For Living Fully In The Now
Each one of us wants to embrace the art of being present but despite wanting to, we are not able to live in the present moment. Because we don’t know how to live fully in each moment. So today let us throw light on this topic:
There are times when we don’t realize that we’re wasting plenty of time living in the past or future. By the time we realize that it gets difficult for us to come out of that zone.
So here are a few things that can be done to come back in today…
1. Focus.
This is one of the effective remedies that can be performed to come back to the present. Here we can focus on our breath, thoughts and feelings going on in our minds.
Apart from inner surroundings, focusing on what’s going on in our outer surroundings also has a major impact on our inner surroundings. Such as the messy outer environment will ultimately mess up our inner surroundings. So clean that up!
2. Feel The Sensations.
Another easy way of coming back in time is to feel what we’re doing. Such as eating, bathing, and walking.
Like when we eat how our tongue feels, when we bathe, how our body feels the water, when we walk, how our mind passes commands to our legs etc. Now there would be a question popping up, what should we feel if we’re not doing anything?
The answer is simple. Feel the silence. Yes! Because in reality, that silence has some sort of noise. Be it bird chirruping, a bit of traffic noise, insect noise etc. And one more noise that will be pretty soothing to listen to. That is our heartbeat!
3. Showing Love To Ourselves.
This should be done on priority. Here we can do activities we like such as dancing, singing, spending time with our favourite person, skating, etc. In short, having some me time can get us back to the present.
But we people are so busy worrying about the future and ignoring the fact that our future entirely depends upon the amount of effort we put in today. When we’re 100% living in the present then we’re not likely to suffer the anxiety related to the future. And in the future, we can see a better past that has no regrets.
4. Setting A Goal.
It’s not easy to be in the present. So we can set a goal for the future that we aim to achieve in the coming years. And we can break that down into smaller goals.
In this way, we’ll have a clear view of what to do every day. That goal should be reliable and realistic. You know memories become past and that past starts haunting us when we haven’t lived that memory with 100% attention.
So why give that chance to our minds? Not living in the present is the actual suffering we suffer.
5. Facing The Pain.
This is the most underrated theory and the root cause of us not being in the present. We run to our past or future when we’re embracing pain in the present.
We need to learn to sit with that pain. Now what if we make it very clear to our mind that no state is going to remain permanent? Be it happiness or sadness.
If we look at the problems of our past and understand that we have sorted out those problems, then we will sort out the problems of the present also. This thought will help us focus on the present moment.