I've been thinking a lot about living in the moment, being present in my surroundings and not allowing myself to overthink the future (or the past!) This can be a struggle for me, as my entire life I have been working towards "something". Whether it be another degree, a better job or just a more fulfilled life for myself. But when does it stop? When should you allow yourself to just be happy with what you have, and enjoy everything you've worked so hard to accomplish?
If you follow me on
Pinterest, you'll see that I pinned a pretty amazing
article about this very topic - being present. Simple right? Not at all. The author actually describes being fully present as scary, something that requires courage. It can be easy to dissasociate from your current state, situation, or feelings by thinking about what's yet to come, or what was. But it's time to find joy in the now, because it's the only "now" we'll ever have.
Erin Lanahan found that there were five major steps in learning how to live in the now.
1. As I rise up, into new levels of consciousness, what is no longer in alignment with it or my highest good, must fall away.
If something isn't bringing me joy or at least challenging me in a positive way, then it needs to fall away. This means everything. Yes, even that god awful sweater that has been hanging in the back of my closet for years. If I can better align my current state with my highest good, what is there to be scared of?
2. When I feel the anger of the past or the fear of the unknown, I simply find my feet and begin again.
Erin comes back to "finding my feet" quite often in the article. Used as a physical reminder of "the present", finding my feet will allow me to reset and recharge.
3. Whatever is showing up in your current experience is meant to be there or it wouldn’t be.
I still don't know how I feel about fate, or the "meant to be's", but I do know I have learned an immense deal about myself from my past. I know that I am the person I am today because of those experiences, and I know that I was meant to find Alex. Whether it be peace of mind or a true belief, thinking of your past regrets as "meant to be or it wouldn't be" does make moving forward easier.
4. Surrender to knowing nothing.
This is a huge one for me. I like to know things, or at least give off the perception of knowing things. But I don't know a lot of things, and that's ok. Staying present allows for a certain naivete that is so rare in our culture (don't even get me started on what I tried to Google the other day...) and I'm going to begin embrasing that. Asking more questions (to human beings) is definintely a start.
5. Let go of what you are still holding on to that needs to be released.
Wow, huge. But the last four years have defininitly got me started. I think this step really begins with self love and confidence. I've worked on that for years and I am happy to say I'm there. But that doesn't mean I don't fall back into thinking about the past, and some of the not so fun parts. Nor does it mean I don't sometimes dwell on the future, the what-if's of my life. It's going to happen. But if I can remember where that pair of un-pedicured feet are and become more present, well hey, now it's not lookin' too bad.
