If you missed part one, you can read it here: Lessons on Living For the Moment, Part 1
Lesson Three: Be Mindful of Your Choices
A lot of the fun of living in the moment comes from being able to make the choice of what to do each minute of the day. There is responsibility too, in making sure that you accept that the choice you make for this moment will have an impact on all the moments that follow it.
Being mindful of what you are doing and why you choose to spend time doing it can be a hard lesson to learn. It can be a frustrating one too if you have trouble staying focused. Take this article, for instance…
I knew that when I chose to sit down and write this article, that I would also be committing to spending the next 45 or 50 minutes with pen and paper, engaged in the task of creating something. So the choice to write an article in one moment has a definite impact on the next several minutes. It means my butt can’t leave the chair until it’s done, that my mind has to stay focused on one topice until it’s done, and any other thoughts that don’t relate to the current topic have to be set aside for the time it takes to get everything I want to say down on paper.
It also means that I have to be mindful of each and every word that goes in to the creation of this article, because it’s very easy for me to just start spewing out whatever comes to mind. And as you’ve no doubt noticed, I can ramble with the best of ‘em!
If I’m not paying attention to where my thoughts are heading, it’s easy to get dragged so far off topic that the only way back is to just stop and start over.
It’s also possible to hit a roadblock where the thoughts just stop. If you’re not mindful of the moment when that happens, you can find yourself crashing head first into the barrier. The moment has passed, and you’ve missed the train of thought you were supposed to be on.
Lesson Four: Let Go of the Past
Which brings me to the fourth lesson I’ve learned about living for the moment. Life is too darned short to live in the past.
And I’ll be perfectly honest with you here — this is the one lesson I still struggle with on a daily basis. I’m not good at letting go, and I still spend way more time than I should thinking about the past. Even though I know I can’t change it (and if I’m really honest I probably wouldn’t if I could since it’s brought me to where I am today), it’s still there rumbling around in my mind doing its level best to interrupt my present.
Learning to accept the past for what it is, is one of the biggest obstacles I’ve faced in my quest to live each day in the moment. I’ve found that sometimes the best way to handle it is to spend a few minutes wallowing in the memories, and then just say “thank you” and send them on their way.
Sometimes, too, thoughts of the past can serve as a good reminder of why it’s so important to stay focused on the present. Like those rare moments that I catch myself thinking “Gee, I wish I had a cigarette right now,” and then I remember all those cigarettes of my past and just how good they were for me. That’s when the past shoves me firmly back into the present, and in a hurry too. I have no desire to repeat those hospital visits, thank you very much.
These days I try to live for the moment and be conscious of my thoughts as often as possible. I’m still working on it, and some days are definitely better than others. One thing I’ve noticed is that the more I pay attention to each moment, the less stressed I am about what tomorrow may bring. Who knows… I might not make it to tomorrow, and that makes me determined to enjoy today’s moments to their fullest.
Thanks for spending a few of your moments reading this. Please leave a comment and let me know if you liked it, or just say hello so I know you were here.
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