“I would argue the vast majority of our day is spent on planning ahead or reflecting on the past and not so much on just focusing and enjoying right now.”
And then asks,
“How are you being mindful?”
I am a worry wart. It has been really easy for me to wish for the future or yearn for the past.
My past was filled with easier times when I was a child and had little worries or responsibilities. Of course, at the time, I didn’t appreciate it and wished the future would come sooner. I look back at the time when life was rosy even though I didn’t realize it at the time. I remember good times with family and friends and how I wish things could be the same. Why is change so hard and difficult?
I wished for the future and what was going to happen. I knew if I was 13, or 16, or 21, my life would become perfect! I remember my mother always warning me about not appreciating the present because I worried so much about the future. There were so many times growing up that I wished it was future times because I thought my life would be so much better.
I realize that by constantly looking behind me or always looking ahead, I’m losing the time that is happening around me.
When I start obsessing with the past or the future, I make myself look at a poster on my phone that I made. It just is a blank white background with the question, “Is that more important than what is happening now?” This makes me be mindful to what is going on in my life right now. If I’m with others, then I focus on what is being said or being done. If there is an event happening, then I pay attention to what is going on.
If my thoughts are not affecting my interactions with anything happening at the time, then I allow myself these thoughts of the past or the future.
My goal this year is going to be more mindful. I want to appreciate the here and now.
What do you do to make yourself more mindful? Please share.
Image: 'Lake and Sky - shot from the+train+IMG_4721'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/67033974@N00/4485938665
Found on flickrcc.net
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