Practicing Mindfulness

Once I received an email with the following question.

 

“So what exactly does it mean to you to live in the present”? 

 

The simplest answer I could give was that I try to have my mind and my body in the same place at the same time.  This is very hard.  I can sit here and do my work but my mind is often miles away and days ahead.  When I received the question on a Wednesday, also known as “hump day”, I wondered, “Who isn’t already thinking of the weekend”?  Another part of being in the moment is to not spend time regretting the past or dreaming of the future.  Try to be open to the possibilities of the present and to notice the extraordinary within the ordinary as it unfolds each day.  It is difficult to live in the moment and to practice mindfulness.  Our culture inundates us with images, commercials, temptations, and data.  Our lives pull us in many different directions that are often in conflict with one another.  It can sometimes feel like we are trying to stay balanced in the middle of a tornado or hurricane.  It takes a lot of practice, discipline, and fortitude.  I think this is why it is called practicing mindfulness.  It’s like anything else.  You get better at it the more you do it.  The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.  Take a step today.  None of this is simple and it does take a conscious effort.