Monday, September 28, 2009

Living in the moment

A Moment

“Life is a succession of moments. To live each one is to succeed.” – Coreta Kent

Have you ever had this experience? I had. One day, when I was driving out of town, I was ‘awakened’ after driving for quite a while. Before I knew I was driving without knowing it. My mind was somewhere else.

Is your mind thinking about something else while you are working? Your thoughts perhaps are in the past or the future. All these tell us that we are not mindful of what we are doing. We are not living in the moment. We just carry out what we are supposed to do mechanically with no thought of it. When we are not living in the moment we miss a lot of things in life.

Working: Working without mindfulness means you will make mistakes. When you have too many things in your mind, it will deprive you of your focus. You are there but not your mind. The best thing to do is to write down the things that are in your mind and allow your mind to be in the moment with what you are doing

Eating: Enjoy food. Let your mind think about the taste, the aroma, and the texture while you chew each mouthful. When you eat allow your mind to savor the food as well.

Fun time: Can you really enjoy yourself while you are there but your mind is thinking about the work in the office? You have to loosen up and allow your mind to be in the moment there and then to really have a good time

Someone is talking to you: Are you listening when someone is talking to you? You are hearing the words but your mind is not there. You have to ask the person to repeat his words and that pisses him off.

Exercise: Tai Chi is an exercise that needs to be very mindful. Your mind and the movements work together. The moment when your mind is thinking of something else you will not know where you are and you will miss the movements in the correct sequence. I have found out that to reap the full benefits of Tai Chi your mind, your breathing and the movements must be in the moment.

Living in the moment or mindfulness means you intentionally pay attention to what you are doing at that moment. It brings you happiness as you and your mind are there to savor and really live and enjoy the moment.

“The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.” – Buddha

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