Here we are entering the year 2023. If you are like many, you hold your breath as you turn that calendar page over, hoping and praying that through this simple action everything will be different. Then you exhale, open your eyes and realize here you stand in the same spot you were two seconds before. Has anything changed?
Actually, our minds and bodies as well as the world around us is constantly changing. By the time I type these words, they are already in the past for me. Then, you read them, (thank you for that). How old is the message by the time your eyes see the letters, your mind unscrambles them into words and you consciousness makes sense of it all? How much time has passed? We can drive ourselves crazy by trying to keep the past in the present and jumping from the present into the future…if there is such a thing because tomorrow is today’s future and today will be tomorrow’s past! Follow?
In a very long winded way, which is usually how I talk, I am gently reminding you as well as myself that we do ourselves a great favour by being in the “now”. The only time we have to work with is the present moment. Regardless of what you are doing, who you are with, the weather or world conditions, these are the most important people, events and times of your life because they are in your “now”. Why consume all your time with thoughts from the past? Especially those that are unpleasant and only result in our feeling bitter, sad, lonely or angry? Is that how you really want your life to be? Can worrying about what is yet to come help you in being happy today and filled with joy? You only steal your own happiness and without realizing it you are weakening your physical, emotional and spiritual well-being. Now, look at those past experiences and memories and ask yourself what positive lessons have you learned? Can you allow yourself the freedom to release the ego so you can let go of regrets, remorse, and bring in forgiveness? Would you be able to remind yourself that you did what you thought was best with what you knew at the time? Try it, once, twice a hundred times until you are able to break the chains that hold you back.
If you constantly think about the past you will continue to have these same experiences drawn into your life as you are filling your “now” with the past and that is all you will see. After awhile even the good memories will trap you from recognizing new experiences, improved ways of doing things. It is perfectly fine, ideal actually, to think into your future to see and feel what it is you wish to manifest in your life. Do so with positivity and with the feeling that it has already come to be in your life. What you think will become your reality so the old saying, “be careful what you wish for,” is very true. When you are desiring changes from your present situation you do well to first see yourself meeting these goals, feeling it as though it has already happened. The next step is to be open to trust your intuition to guide you in the direction you need to go, meet the people you need to meet, take the opportunities that are presented with confidence and assurance that the Universe has your back.
The more you trust and let fears of the unknown and what people think slip away, you will find yourself really seeing, feeling, hearing and experiencing the world around you. Through meditation, being in nature, taking times for stillness, even just a few moments, will allow you to be in the now. Control your breath, quiet your thoughts, be okay with simply being. If you think you don’t have time I would like to ask you, how much time do you spend on the computer, the phone, watching TV? Could you not spare 5-15 minutes of that time to improve your over all well-being? YOU DESERVE IT! Why not make this your New Year’s Resolution, to spend more time in the now…it is a gift, that is why it is called the present.