How do we learn to live in the present, in this season? With all the uncertainty and instability in our world? And as Christmas rapidly approaches? One of the death bed regrets I have been musing on is regretting not making more of each moment that we live in.
Do you crave the quiet enjoyment of Now?
I came across this quote the other day:
When thinking about life remember this: no amount of guilt can solve the past and no amount of anxiety can change the future.”
A lot of truth in that.
What interests me is the vacuum in the middle.
I am a ‘so what’ sort of person – when presented with new information, I tend to ask myself first, ‘well, so what?’. What difference does that make, or how does that change things?
Now, there is enough fodder in the above quote to keep many psychologists happy for a long time. But in my own, very tentative musings, I recognise a few things.
Dealing with your past, reconciling yourself to it and learning all you can from it can enable you to live more humbly and wisely and with greater freedom in the present.
Identifying what it is you are anxious about in the future, and whether you can take steps to minimise the situation. Recognising and accepting what is and is not within your control and what you do and do not have responsibility for can help bring a more objective perspective to the future.
It can help to identify how we feel, what kind of tired we are (as this is often a contributory factor) and what kind of rest we need. Mindfulness is a useful tool here too.
This is not said simply or glibly, and I am all too aware from my work how much of a challenge these issues are. And what time, effort, tears, understanding and self-awareness are required to live in the present like this.
But that brings me back to the vacuum in the middle.
Where does that leave us?
In the present.
How to live in the present? There are lots of platitudes about the present being the only place to live, and that is why it is a present.
Again, true if a teensy bit cheesy.
There seems much heaviness around us just now, with folks local and global enduring pain, grief and suffering.
And perhaps the idea of thankfulness filling that vacuum seems trite, over simplistic and down right insulting.
So I say this carefully and very cautiously.
Perhaps we can we learn to live more in the present….
…to value and cherish those around us today
…to recognise what we have got
…to embrace what we can do
…to celebrate what we have learned and gained from our past
(nothing is failure after all, simply an opportunity to learn)
…to find things to be thankful for even in the midst
Living free of guilt for the past and anxiety for the future -perhaps the key is thankfulness in the present? If this resonates with you, take a minute to simply sit in the seamless garment of silence with this beautiful reflection.
Happy November.