"Living in the moment," has become as common as the phrase, "How are you?" It's something we say, but it's not always something we think about. I have always strugged to truly live in the moment. My daily reminders from the "Tiny Buddah" suggest it, my morning pratice of yoga and meditation hopes for it, and the little voice in my head often says, "Hey darling, you are not living in the moment;" ...even so, I am still lingering on yesterday's memories and trying to run from tomorrow's storm clouds . So for me, the truth of living in the moment means surrendering to the "what is" of each day. Longing and fearing are probably the biggest hinders of personal freedom. Don't just live in the moment, really be there.
Learning to live in the moment started when I wasn't willing to hang out with negative thoughts and feelings. Everytime I had a negative thought or feeling, I'd escape to some great memory of the past or I'd start builing a lofty dream of what the future could be. All the while my mind and emotions were standing right in front of me doing jumping jacks and yelling, "Here we are!" What does one do when living in the moment means dealing with one's crazy self?
When someone casually says, "Just live in the moment.," ask them exactly what they mean. If I asked you to sit down and paint me a picture of something and you've never painted or been introduced to art, would you feel a little lost? For me, living in the moment, could only be defined once I praticed it. It is a practice I master some days and entirely fail on other days. It is about learning to accept that life is both light and shadow and our experience is really a creation of our judgements and reactions. Living in the moment means to accept the joy, the sadness and everything in between. Afterall, a moment is just a moment and then comes the next moment.
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