be present

art by Fred Matthews

When we were children, even though we didn’t realize it, we lived each day fully. We gave no care to yesterday or tomorrow. We were present to the moments and vitally aware of how fun life could be. We laughed and loved easily and constantly. Until our spirits were broken, if we were a child that had our spirit broken; we always got up, always recovered, always were willing to try again, to love again, to laugh again. We never second thought - things would work out, things would get better. We knew that, we trusted that, we expected that, and that was it. It was a good way to live.

When we were children, we had no concept of time. There was only now. We could not see to tomorrow, we never gave a thought to tomorrow. But we got older, we grew up. Life, people, events broke our spirits and taught us that things we wanted could not happen now, we had to wait for tomorrow. We learned that tomorrow was more important than today because that was when things happened. Sadly, now that we are older, we know that this is not the way to live.

As we have gotten older, life’s experiences have chipped away at our childhood innocence… our childhood beliefs. Now, as adults, many of us live lives of intense caution - afraid to trust people, to do too much, to not do enough, to make the wrong move, to make the wrong choice. We laugh less, ignore our perceptions and instincts, choose not to love, refuse to trust, and are afraid to live in the present. We don’t have time, don’t make time to smell the flowers, savor our coffee or tea, soak up the sun’s warming rays, or enjoy a cool fall breeze. We barely have time to appreciate good music, food, and drink, do the things that bring us joy - like spend time with people we care about. We definitely don’t see the humor in life.

Many of us choose to mistrust humankind, to hold our love in reserve, We laugh tight-lipped and smile with just our mouths. We glance so that we don’t have to look and see. We sniff rather than indulge in a full-on smell. We don;t give our all when only half-assed will do.

But limited living will lead to limited life - limited health, limited money, limited love, limited fun, limited happiness. We must stop! We must reconnect to our inner child! We must capture the childhood beliefs we abandoned by the curbside. In capturing the essence of our childhood, we will begin to see and be a part of the beauty of life. Seeing the beauty and joy of childhood will allow us the space to appreciate life in the now. Appreciation will facilitate feelings of trust and feelings of trust will help to open the doors of our hearts so we can begin to love freely and easily. A life full of love, joy, happiness, and beauty is a healthier life A healthier life in the now is a life free from limits and an unlimited life is a life of possibilities.

When do we begin? I say there is no time like NOW! How?

First, take a moment and breathe in… deeply. The air is sweeter and fresher when we breathe from a moment of appreciation rather than a rushed moment. So slowly inhale, hold and then exhale and release the stresses of the moment. All you have is now, enjoy it!

Find time to sing or dance or both. Do it easily, just because. Children love to dance and sing. They are not shy.

Share a joke a funny story. Laugh at yourself. Laugh at life. Laughing is good for the body and the spirit. It also burns calories. laugh every day. It changes your perspective. How bad can life be if you can laugh?

Hug someone, share a smile, do a kindness. It does wonders for you. In fact, it does as much for you the giver as it does for the receiver. It brightens a dark day, lightens a sad moment, enhances even the best of times - it doubles joy.

Do something that you love that you stopped because you thought you were too old. You are never too old to have fun, to smile, to be filled with happiness. Doing the things we love keeps us young and happy. A younger, happier you is a healthier you.

Love! Trust! Take a chance and love! Trust your instincts! Be open to the possibility of love! be available for love! The world is filled with opportunities to love - enjoy it.

Rest, relax, meditate, sit in solitude. Create a serenity space. You need a place within you where you can go to re-balance, re-energize, be in discovery without judgment, and find your creativity. You are after all, a creative being.

Ultimately, the way to live is to be present to life.

be present to the rain - the fat and heavy drops, the soft drops, the wetness and the mist.

be present to your pain so you can find its source, work it through, and let it go.

be present to the people you love - to the friends and family who make the difference in your life.

create moments to remember together

be present to endings - know that endings don’t have to mean wrong or right and are not judgments. Endings mean beginnings are right around the corner.

be present to everything.  be present without a reason other than to be present because NOW is all there is.. now.. and now… and now.

Back To School... Back To Work

It's been years since I have been in school and a few years since I have had to get a child ready for school. So, it was with some pleasure that I watched, on Facebook, parents preparing for a new school year and people preparing to go back to work. It made me think of the song by Soul ll Soul - “Back To Life”. The song says, “show me how/ decide what you want from me/tell me maybe I could be there for you/however do you want me/however do you need me”. I love that phrase.

For the last roughly eighteen months a phrase that has resonated with me has been “be what is wanted and needed”. I have begun to learn to trust that life has me and that things fall into place, even if I don’t understand how. Part of that learning process has been the realization that sometimes when I just show up, with no agenda, my “me-ness” has been what was wanted and needed. Being present to the moment, going with the flow, taking a  moment to just breathe, has… lately…  allowed me to look at things and life from a different perspective. It has worked out so well that now I choose to show up to places and events with no expectation other than to be what is wanted and needed when it is wanted and needed. That has served me well - sometimes I have gone to places only to discover that there is someone there who is wanted and needed by ME! So I am not only a blessing to others, sometimes someone is a blessing to me.

So, today is not a back to school day for me, nor is it a back to work day for me, but it is a “back to the present time” day for me. But it is a day to remember that I don’t live in the future ( although I do prepare for it) and I no longer live in the past (finally let that go). It is a day to remember I live in the present moment and when I find myself slipping back to old habits I remind myself to focus on the present, to be what is wanted and needed in my life as well as others. This is serving me.

For those of you dealing with back to school and back to work, remember to stop and breathe. Remember that you can be present to the moments of school and work. You can be what is wanted and needed in school, at work, and in your life. “Back to” can be a good thing. However do you want it? However do you need it? you can be it? Let’s all get back to it.