Here I tell you some of the benefits and ways to achieve it.
Are you always thinking about the things you have to do next? Always living in a hurry, wanting to finish something to start the next? Is everything you do now with the purpose to get something in a few days, in a few years, or when you need it? If so, you live in the future.
Living in the future makes us constantly stressed, living on the run, with anxiety, without feeling, without really understanding, internalizing and enjoying what we are living in the present moment. We cannot value in the same way, nor discover or learn things, that need attention and slowness to be discovered or experienced. We go so fast, that we do not realize important things and we do not allow ourselves the pleasure and enjoyment.
Or on the contrary, do you live thinking that "past times were always better" and not enjoying what you do now? Idealizing and forgetting that there were also difficult moments in that past? Or that thanks to your "disastrous" past you can't live a fullfilled life? Has it marked you so much that you think there is no solution? If so, you live in the past.
Living in the past always leaves us feeling bitter, sad, stagnant, bored, self-pitying, and unable to move forward or even try new things. Change is seen as a bad thing, and it does not allow us to discover other ways of living, we cannot appreciate the beauty of diversity, nor enjoy experiencing it.
We have all lived in the past or in the future at different times in our lives, but few times, at least consciously, we do live in the present. Maybe when we are having a great time ... and we recognize that at the same time we are thinking that we do not want it to end ... And we go back to the future!
I believe that the objective of life is to enjoy, and for that we need to be in the present. Finding what makes us enjoy the here and now, the moment we are in, or softening the difficulty we are going through, and although it hurts, at least we do not suffer. Living in the present allows us to be at peace.
To be in the present consciously, I propose some things:
- Return to the body. There is nothing more present than our body. Do something physical and pay attention to every movement, the energy you have, how that feels to you. Pay attention to your needs, if you are hungry, you need to go to the bathroom, rest, drink water…. Do it! Do not leave it for later, give it priority and pay attention to how you feel.
- Identify what you like or what makes you enjoy what you are doing at the moment, and if you don't like it, try something (like playing music) so that what you are doing is not so heavy for you.
- Connect with your emotions. How do you feel in this moment? Let yourself express what you feel, whether you want to laugh or want to cry. Expressing what we feel is healing and if we need to cry, don't wait for the night so that anyone can see you, or don't put on a movie to ignore it…. Just cry! Find a way to be able to do it in a comfortable way for you (take a break from work, go to the bathroom, etc.). If you are doing something that you don't like too much, you may ask yourself: what can help me to feel better in this moment or to enjoy this moment? - Integrate slowness into your life. Allow yourself to take a walk looking at the color of the flowers, the trees, the shops…. Whatever is in your way. Allow yourself to do things slowly, without haste, without stress, aware of everything you do and feel.
- Unleash your creativity. If you have any idea, do not dismiss it or ignore it to return to your frantic rhythm, no matter how crazy it may be, carry it out or write it down so that you do not forget it and you can consciously plan and carry it out by connecting with what makes you feel.
- Incorporate and accept change as part of our life. Everything begins and ends, because what does not end cannot give rise to anything new, good or bad. So, even though we are having a great time, it will end and for that, let's enjoy while it lasts! And if it's a difficult situation, it's going to end too, so what can help me cope better (than not ignoring it or avoiding it)?
As always, I invite you to try simple things, little by little, not all at once, and experiment, observe, pay attention to what is happening and how you feel.
I say goodbye with a big hug full of change, slowness and presence!