Living in the present moment of life – moment to moment awareness; noticing vs judging; responding vs reacting – are basic tenets of Mindfulness, which is a purposeful way of living that can foster many positive health benefits with regular practice.
The only thing we ever truly have is this very moment right now. A lot of the stress and anxiety we experience as humans along the journey of life is when we consistently process life with a past or future lens. The past has already happened and the future has yet to exist. Yes we are affected by our previous experiences and yes we do need to plan for the future, but ruminating or worrying too much about the past or the future can make us eternally dissatisfied with the present moment of life.
In a recent blog post, Charlie Ambler from Daily Zen writes about how living for today can enrich life:
The culture of hope and forward-thinking plans has always relied on a perpetual sense of dissatisfaction with the present moment. Only those who are unhappy with themselves now feel the need to work so single-mindedly towards a glorious later. There’s nothing wrong with being ambitious. We run into problems, though, when we obsessively try to plan life in advance. The best lives are led fully day-by-day. People who are good to others, work hard, cultivate mindfulness, and discipline themselves end up growing into new, better people.
So take a deep breath and go forth in your next couple of minutes, hours, days and weeks being mindful of life as it is happening – with moment to moment awareness; noticing vs judging, responding vs reacting. Note how you feel physically, mentally, emotionally, socially, personally, professionally when you slow things down and smell the roses a bit. Be grateful for who you are and all that is as each and every day of life is a gift.
Inspirational video for living for today by Louie Schwartzberg:
Live Mindfully & Prosper all!