There is a a lot talk in the spirituality realm these days about being in the present. This is a hard concept for me. I mean, how hard is it to stay present, when, your, well…present? I pay attention to what I’m doing when I’m doing it, so I’m present, right? I thought so until I was having lunch in the middle of a busy day with a friend. I started to say, “After this, I have to be…” and she stopped me and said, “Stop. Forget about where you have to be. Enjoy this, here and now.” We laughed, but that statement struck me. Now I get it. You can actually be someplace without being there because your mind is already racing to where you have to be in the future.
I noticed on my drive to NY today that I concentrated not only on the road, but the weather, music, my snack in the car, and the great drive I was having. For most of these trips, other than the road, I thought and rethought thoughts about a past relationship I was struggling letting go of. I thought so much I arrived in NY exhausted and with a tremendous stress headache. Today was decidedly different. I arrived with a lot of energy and no headachy feeling. Could it be that staying in the present gives the mind a break of some sort – much in the same way sleep and dreams do?
Tonight when I opened up my Spark People quote of the day I found the quote below. Sometimes it IS absolutely necessary to think about nothing in order to let the present seep in and claim you.
And so, as another day goes by, presently it’s late and I’m going to feel my head on the pillow and think only about rest at the end of a busy day, and…I have written.
* artwork – mine. (I have made a commitment to my blog group to stop stealing pictures and use my own artwork in my posts when I want to use a quote)
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