Smell The Roses
“If you’re always racing to the next moment, what happens to the one you’re in?” -Nanette Mathews
Everyday you see people bustling around, going from place to place, with task to task. They only have one thing on their mind and one thing only, doing what they need to do, to get done what they need to get done. The sad thing is not only are busy people not living in the moment, but people with free time are not either. Someone could be sitting on a bench looking down at their phone playing Candy Crush and never realize a humongous rainbow was just above them. Living in the moment is something many people claim to be good at or do all the time, but in reality it is quite the opposite. How can you live in the moment when you just have so much to do? What does it take to live in the moment? And most importantly, why is it actually important to live in the moment?
There is no direct answer to the first question. Sometimes it is a matter of survival to do everything you need to do, whether that be working all day to get food on the table or have a place to live. Living in the moment when you have a lot to do means you will just have to focus on the now and practice mindfulness. The senior of Psychology Today, Jay Dixit, says living in the moment or practicing mindfulness helps reduce stress, boosts your immune system, and lowers blood pressure. In the short breaks you do have free time like eating a meal, drinking a coffee, or walking to your next location, savor and relish life in the moment, at least that’s what Sonja Luybomirsky, Ph.D., psychologist, and educator at the University of California at Riverside says. One other thing you can do is pay attention to the small things in life that make you happy, like eating ice cream, listening to music, painting pictures, and etc… All these things together can definitely help you live in the moment, even when you have a lot to do.
The second question is a bit more straightforward, it does take certain things to live in the moment. The first thing you have to do is let go of the past and not wait for the future. Sometimes people can not live in the moment because they are still stuck in thinking about how life used to be for them, which only causes sadness or suffering. While people waiting for the future can miss opportunities or important aspects of their life because they are not really living in the now. People living in the past, as hard as it sounds, need to move on, and people dreaming about the future, need to realize, it is only productive when combined with action taken today. Not worrying about tons of things is another important thing it takes to live in the present. This is especially important because worrying takes you out of the moment and into the future. Of course you can’t stop worrying all together, but you can control how. Focus on existing problems, not possible problems, to keep your stress down and push unnecessary stress out of the way.
Last but not least, the third question, why is it actually important to live in the moment? Well this question has actually been answered throughout the article, but here is the summary. Living in the moment leaves you feeling more fulfilled, helps you let go of regrets or grudges, means you will worry less, have more energy, be more focused, calm, happy, appreciative, peaceful, and perhaps most importantly you will feel freer. Expectations, past experiences, and worries will no longer restrain you or make you feel trapped. The ability to take risks and live how you want will take reign. Living in the moment is something preached by almost everyone, yet many do not practice what they preach. It is time to slow down or as Lê Thị Diễm Thúy writes “watch the world explode before your eyes” in her poem “sans papiers”. Smell the roses because life can be such a delight when you want it to be.
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Photo [CC-by-2.0] 2012 by Andrey Zhukov
Everywhere you go you see people bustling from place to place. You can see in their eyes they are focused on one thing and one thing only, getting to where they need to get, to get done whet they need to get done. Many people could be in the most beautiful place on Earth, but still want to get to their next location. Lê Thị Diễm Thúy writes “watch the world explode before your eyes” in her poem “sans papiers”. This is a great piece of advice or suggestion. You can still do what you need to do, but you can also look at the world around you. Slowing down and experiencing life to the fullest can be much more beneficial than being busy and stressed all of the time. Breaking away from a full routing can be uncomfortable or difficult, but taking time to, so to speak, “inhale the trail of fireworks on the shore” is just what everyone needs in life.
