Five Ways To Enjoy And Live In The Present Moment
Have you ever thought about how many days you actually enjoyed from start to finish? Would you like every day to be like Christmas? Would you like to repeat that happy day and that happiness was never lacking in your life? Happiness is often in front of our eyes and in this article, I will show you how to discover it in everyday life.
Often our days become automatic : we wake up, take a shower, have breakfast, go to work, come back, have dinner and sleep. And as a result, it is very common to end the day with a feeling of emptiness; we finish all our tasks and when we go to sleep we just think that we are not satisfied with our life. If you think that this is just another day in your life, you are wrong, it is not just another day, it is the only day you received, today; life is giving you that day, it’s a gift, it’s all you have here and now, and the only adequate response to that gift is to enjoy it, to thank it, in a word, to live it.
Our minds spend around 70% of its time reproducing memories and creating “perfect times” scenarios, so we’re living our present in just 30% of our time. The bad thing is not that we invest so little time in living our present, but that many people never manage to live in the now. It is common for people to say: “I will be happy when I manage to retire from work”, “when I reach my goal I will be happy”, “when I have a day to rest I can be happy”; many people put themselves conditions for their happiness. We should never think of happiness as a goal when it may well be all the way through. Happiness as a goal lasts only a moment or a few minutes and no longer, but the happiness on the path will last a lifetime.
The secret of happiness is to open our eyes to all these things that happen in our present, in the now. Do you think that nothing good or interesting ever happens? It’s not that nothing ever happens, it’s just that there aren’t equal moments ; look closely and you will see that every day is unique, new and special. Nothing in this life repeats itself, so that your past or the uncertainty of your future shouldn’t matter anymore, it shouldn’t matter because the future doesn’t exist yet. The only thing we can be sure of is ours now.
seize the present
This day is the only thing we take for granted. Learn to put full attention to everything you do moment to moment. Enjoy it, live your day consciously, awake and attentive. Dedicate yourself to cultivating that reaction to the great gift of this unique day, and learn to live it as if it were the first and the last of your life.
Below I propose some activities to start marveling at the present moment :
* Start by opening your eyes and marveling at everything you can see, all the beautiful colors that are there just to be appreciated. Look at the sky that we so rarely look at. Look at it and notice how it changes minute by minute. We often think of weather as “bad” or “good”, but even today, we have a unique weather that will never be that way again. Cloud formation will never be as it is now.
* Go to a park or other outdoor place you like, turn off your cell phone, sit comfortably and notice what the air is like: cold, warm or temperate? Pay attention to all the smells you can perceive, listen to all the sounds that catch your attention, observe everything around you and think about what it is like and how you feel.
* Take a shower and pay attention to it, imagine that you have just arrived in the world and that it is the first time you take a shower, feel the water on your skin, the smell of soap, the water temperature, the noise it makes when falls, everything. Take the opportunity to relax, disconnect from everything but yourself.
* Look into the eyes of the people you know, each one of them is unique, has a unique life and among millions of people, crosses your path right now, open your heart and appreciate them with a smile and a thoughtful greeting .
It is completely normal for you to have some thought that has nothing to do with the present moment; don’t worry, just think of an “oommmm” mantra (for example) and turn your attention to your breathing, your surroundings and how you are doing. Keep your attitude in that mindset as much as you can, enjoy it and, most importantly, smile. Remember, somewhere in the world someone is struggling to get everything you have; give thanks, enjoying the huge amount of gifts that life has given you today, open your heart to all these blessings and let happiness flow into your life, simply because you can see, smile, touch… simply because you are alive and then, it will really be the best day of your life.
