The Importance Of Being In The Moment

How often does one hear of a story where someone with cancer is living life to the fullest, enjoying every moment? Someone at the precipice of crossing over, skydiving, travelling around the globe doing everything that they wished to but never had or made the time for? On a regular basis, unfortunately, but we remain unmoved beyond the story itself.

Why do we wait for the last moments of our lives to start living?

What happens to living in the now?

We keep building fantasies about the future and dwelling in the past, letting this moment slip through our fingers.

These self-destructive fantasies deter you from living life to your fullest. No one wants to be miserable or wants to live in the past or future, its inadvertent. It’s the “should’s” that trip us up.

It is these fantasies that slowly spoil your attitude and ability to make progress on the things that are important to you. Slowly creeping into all spheres of your life, festering like a silent tumour simmering, waiting to metastasis. 

Sometimes we need such reminders to jolt us out of our reverie and get back into the ring of life instead of being bystanders pontificating on the game.

Unfortunately, the older we get, the more rigid and set in our ways we become, making ourselves into little stress balls fantasizing our way into the vortex of heartaches, headaches and even heart attacks. It is these very fantasies that push us to procrastinate, procrastinate so much that we fail. All this at the cost of missing out on the beauty and perfection that surrounds us and abounds in our own lives, grasping for more or less of what we want and don’t.

If on the flip side we just pause and count our blessings, stop pontificating, wishing, wanting and deliberating about what we have and don’t have and embrace what we have how much peace of mind we will have.

Attempt the following to begin living in the moment:

Do not judge people- accept them as they are. 

Do not let people's conduct control your thoughts and behavior. People flourish in acceptance. Just be present and accepting. If after deliberation you resolve to spend extra time with them then do so, if not then part ways with dignity and respect. 

Be conscious of your thoughts- Make a conscious effort about where your thoughts wander off and keep bringing them back to the now.

Set a reminder- Do this multiple times in the day to pause and gather your gifts.

Meditate- Do this at least once a day to zoom out and regroup.

Stop fantasizing- Just as misguiding negative thoughts can be, as they derail you, so can building castles in the air.

Swap your fantasies with full presence and being in the moment. Give your all into what you’ve got, right in front of your personal or private life.

Challenge yourself to move through this day and each day and practice seeing life as it truly is being in the here and now. Choosing this moment over all moments time after time because that is all we really have.