LIVING IN THE MOMENT

I went for a breath taking, posterior breaking horseback ride the other day with my good friend Esme. Given the weather which was very cool with gusting winds, we were certainly very ‘alert’ throughout and ended up with some numb toes. Do not try and jump off your trusty steed unless you’re certain you can feel your feet. Just take my word for that. While riding happily along, keeping an eagle eye out for flapping things or peculiar objects like random plastic chairs – these things can send your horse into a paroxysm of terror and thus land you summarily on the ground – we got to talking. Well of course we did, and as usual no stone is left unturned. I won’t vex you with the pros and cons of white wine versus Dirty Martinis as a ‘before dinner loosener upper’ but we did discuss a topic that really stuck with me; living in the moment.

We were talking about how it seems so challenging now to do that. I know myself I can create endless stress and anxiety simply by projecting myself forward constantly and focusing on where I need to go or be. The result of that of course is that you don’t know for sure what it will be like or if you’ll get there, thus you get the stress and anxiety of worrying about it. More importantly what’s happening behind the scenes is that you are losing the ‘now’. An unlikely example we spoke about was washing the dishes. No, no….stay with me, this is going to get good, I promise. So washing the dishes; what a humdrum, pain in the bottom task, right? RIGHTO you’re all agreeing! Well here’s the thing, it has to be done. You have to do it. So instead of lamenting on all the other things you could be doing instead, or how you actually loathe the smell of green apple dish soap….. focus. Wash those dishes to within an inch of their lives. Put some gusto into it. Relish in how great everything looks once you’ve completed it. Stay in the moment. Live it. There are countless tasks that we are obliged to do every day that we mentally project ourselves through and out the other end. How about trying to stay in it and enjoy the process? Sound mad?

Okay, so here’s the kicker. Living the moment I believe is ‘learned behaviour’ which of course requires practice. How better to practice than what I just described? I’ll bet you’ve been wondering how to practice that very thing haven’t you? I know you haven’t but seriously I think we should. By being able to ‘be in the moment’ it heightens all the experiences of our lives. We can appreciate things more, fully enjoy to a greater capacity, plus teach ourselves some stress-free living. If you’re focusing on sweeping the prehistoric dust bunnies out from under your desk you are NOT worrying about much else. It’s a nice little respite, a mini vacation for your poor, overtaxed brain.

And the cherry on the sundae; you are getting the most out of your life, cherishing all your time rather than just chosen episodes of it. Sounds like an ace plan to me folks.

Now go do the dishes.