Evening peeps!
I have spent the last couple of weeks in a flurry of activity. Being a mammy, working, cleaning, living, thinking, procrastinating, glorifying being busy, not really being busy, wondering if my time management skills are up to scratch, organising birthdays, counting down the return to school, more cleaning, more procrastinating, dodging the laptop as the inspiration to write deserted me, more work, no time, go-go- go, catch up, fall behind, panic, moan, run, clean, mop, shop. All the while forgetting to breathe. And tonight, I have stopped. I’m just here, in the right now, enjoying this fleeting moment in time.
Luckily enough, I have taken my own advice for a change and have channelled my inner Einstein. We are back to my friend George’s email, and Albert Einsteins life lessons. The lesson that I need to heed today is ‘Focus on the present –I never think of the future, it comes soon enough.’ Thanks Albert, and as usual, you are right.
I can’t speak for all of you, but I find myself at times thinking ‘When I do this, I can have X’, or ‘When that’s done, I can then move on to doing Y’ – which is a normal train of thought. What I am forgetting is that if I just sat with the here and now instead of focusing on tomorrow, time management wouldn’t be an issue. We spend our lives making memories, which is great – but do we appreciate the memory more than the actual moment?
I may have read this in a book somewhere, but imagine life to be like driving at night. The road behind you falls away into the darkness, and the road ahead is lit by the headlights… good enough image, it makes sense. However, I feel sometimes that maybe we focus too much on the lights approaching in the distance, the junction that we need to take, or indeed our destination to the detriment of the moment right then and there. The feeling of your butt in the seat so to speak, or that song on the radio. You are in that car alone, and for that split second, you are the only person on the planet in that place on that journey. That says a lot. Henry Miller had a point when he said ‘Ones destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.’
That is what I’m going to try to practice from now on. Just enjoying each moment as it comes. No expectations. No binding and exacting plans as to how my tomorrow should be. I’m just going to be here, now. Mr Worry, Mr Fear, and Mr Regret are the biggest enemies to keeping your head in the present
‘ Let go of the past and move on.’ they say.
‘ Accept the past and forgive yourself and others!’ I reply.
There is a difference. Did I mention Mr Judgmental? Tell him to take a hike as well. Be kind to yourself, especially your younger self – most of the time we have tried our best. You might have messed up. That’s Ok – you are a mortal being after all. If you keep making the same mess, then you need to have a chat to yourself. Break the cycle.
In a moment of stress, a friend telling you to take deep breaths may just push you over the edge, nevertheless it is sound advice. Nothing can bring you back to the present quicker than focusing on your breath. Essential to life and it sure does give your overworked brain a moment to bring a bit of clarity to a situation.
The other bit of advice I would offer you is, get rid of negative thoughts and people. I remember heading to a gig once in Dublin with a friend of mine, and her friend who I hadn’t previously met. Thirty minutes into the journey, the stranger turned to me and said ‘Jesus woman, If this is how you talk about yourself when you are in good form, I wouldn’t like to hear what you call yourself in bad form’ Now, she was a bit forward and I was taken aback by what she said but in hindsight, she did me a favour. She was the catalyst for me to increase my awareness about myself and what I put out to the world. Watch your thoughts about your own self; become aware of them, and ask yourself if you would ever talk about your family, children or friends in such a dispirited and indeed disrespectful way. Give yourself a break, and a hug. Be kind to yourself for goodness sake.
Stop comparing everything. Material trappings and possessions are just an illusion. We all arrived on this planet in the same way, and we will all leave the same. If you have the capacity to feel empathy and be kind, then you are rich. Not taking yourself too seriously helps too.
At the end of the day, we are all human and in the majority of cases we are all good. We are loved by someone and we love back. Stay in the here and now, do one thing you love everyday and let tomorrow arrive when it’s supposed to. Today will always be a good place to be, and this very moment in time will never happen again. Enjoy it. x
“Wait for tomorrow
To think tomorrow’s thoughts.”
― Sri Chinmoy
I hope you did just one thing that made you smile today. If you didn’t, then do it right now.
Love and positive thoughts to you
Cat x
catherinahogan 