I believe that we inherently…
live moment by moment. Then as soon as we have the capacity to reason and rationalize, we learn to be where our heads are. Each moment is sewn together with the next in a seamless pattern and moments become hours and days. Days become months and then years.
This collection of moments then becomes the past and the future. The past and the future are where we tend to live. Each moment is classified as good or bad. I know there is a plethora of adjectives to describe your life, but let’s keep it simple for the sake of brevity.
So, good, or bad. Why is it that the bad is more inclined to follow us into the next moment? While the good prefers to stay where it is and will become the past.
Our future then becomes a place where we have overcome the bad. And the past is where all our happiness is.
The present happens so quickly that it feels invisible. That’s why it is so easy for the past and the future to distract you from the present.
Turn Everything Off
That’s why it feels so good to turn everything off and sit in silence for a moment. When you’re not in the past or future and are sitting in this moment you tend to have the best ideas, are able to re-charge, renew, and everything feels as it should; where you can feel that you are alive and living. You can feel your feet, your eyes, your breath, and soul. If you are paying attention.
Why is it easier to hang on to negative events and discard, even forget, the positive events? Why does pain mark an event in history and joy fade away and cause us to spend our time trying to find it again? We never forget about pain but have to be reminded of why we should be happy.
Well, pain reminds us that we are alive. And we forget that happiness is not something to look for. Remember? We are the manufacturers of our own happiness. There is a factory within you churning out joy. All you have to do is place your order.
How Can We Move Forward?
So, how can we move forward into each moment without holding on to the past or hurtling ourselves into the future at any given moment? By giving our awareness, a task. Even if that task is to be present.
Strive to let go of your own negative thoughts as well as letting go of friends or family who insist on sharing theirs.
Some people we love have a habit of finding the negative in anything and everything throughout their day and then rehashing it with others in the evening. It’s okay to vent. Let it out. But immediately afterwards we all have the opportunity to examine our reaction to it, learn from it, and let it go.
The person on the other end of that conversation has the choice to join in and point out more negativity or suggest a more positive view. You can agree to be two people at the bottom of a pit. You might decide to be the one struggling to pull the other person out of their own pit, which gets old real quick if they don’t want to help themselves. Or choose to walk away understanding that you can’t help someone who either isn’t ready to accept help or doesn’t want it.
Self-Compassion Please
Sometimes it’s easier to call out someone else’s negativity than acknowledge your own. Remember to be your own friend. You have the power to pull yourself out.
And remind yourself to choose positivity, choose happiness, and to be in the moment every chance you get.
You will become a calming presence when you learn to live in the present. You have an opportunity every second to begin anew. You’ll fail as many times as you succeed. That’s a given so…self-compassion please.
It’s really hard, but worth every moment.
“…the human mind is a strange creature. Unless it is reminded of something regularly, it gradually forgets about that thing.”
The Harmony Silk Factory , Tash Aw, pg. 41
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