Sometimes life is going along just the way we want it to go and other times…it’s not! During such trying times, dealing with the moment can be challenging, never mind bringing the past and future into the mix. Let’s say all is well in your world at this moment. How many of you mess that up by dredging up something uncomfortable from the past or begin to worry about the future?
Living in the moment can be difficult for many people, especially those who are not very aware of how there minds work. Awareness is an important catalyst for change, as it is difficult to fix something if you don’t know it’s broken. So, try to be aware of when your mind wanders into the past or the future. Take notice how much this actually happens throughout the course of a day. You may be surprised as to how often you are not mentally present in this moment. Once you spend a day a two or whatever it takes to become aware of how your mind works in relation to the past, present and future, you’ll need to work on keeping it in the present. You could even ask someone close to you who is around you often to occasionally ask you, “What are you thinking about now”? Try it.
The past lives in our minds. We can stimulate memories of the past with photos, videos, and other material items left from the past, but the time of the past has gone forever. Every second, every moment that we experience immediately becomes the past and we therefore can only revisit that time in our minds. I’m not saying to forget your loved ones who have passed on or your wonderful memories. You’ll certainly want to recall situations from your past that you may have learned from that may help you in some way today. The past can be a great comfort and learning tool for the present. But this can get tricky if you think too much about it. For example, let’s say you remember putting your hand on a hot stove and burning yourself. If you think about putting your hand on a hot stove again, you’ll know that if you do, you’ll get burned and you also may recall your initial experience of being burned. So, do you really need to recall in your mind that past, initial experience of being burned to know not to put your hand on a hot stove or does your mind in the present know not to do it because it already learned what not to do immediately after the initial burn? See what I mean? We can complicate this if we choose. So, let’s keep it simple. The point is, be careful not to justify living in the past because you think it’s necessary to help you today. As in my example, the mind in the present knew what not to do. It didn’t need to revisit the past.
Let’s talk a little more about why it’s important to live in the moment. We have our mind, body and spirit in this moment. We cannot say the same of the past and future. We can experience this very moment fully and completely. This moment is life at it’s fullest. Accepting life at this moment is not always easy, especially at moments of tragedy, sorrow, pain and death. But what other healthy choice do we have?
In most other circumstances, living in the moment makes life much easier than trying to deal with the past and future as well. The past is gone and cannot be changed, so why dwell in it? The future is unknown and out of our control, so why worry about it. Of course, we need to do our part by living right today so as to ensure, as much as possible, a better tomorrow. How many times have you ruined the moment because you are worried about the future? Life becomes much easier when we narrow it down to this moment.
There is not a magic answer to help you to live in the moment. It is actually quite simple but it may take practice and time before you get good at it. The body is the easiest to connect with the present so let’s work with that. If you find yourself wandering into another time in your mind, stop & look where your feet are. That’s where you are now. If your sitting, not standing, check to see where something else is. 
This is an exercise to bring you back to the moment. You can also practice a form of mindfulness meditation. Again, this is very simple. Be aware of whatever you may be doing at the time. If you’re eating, be mindful of you’re the movements of using the fork, putting the food to your mouth, chewing and then swallowing. Break life’s everyday activities down into small increments and be mindful of whatever it is that you are doing at that moment. This will help get you in the habit of living in the present and will allow you to fully experience life’s simple everyday activities. If you are fully engaged in this moment, it becomes difficult to regret the past and fear the future.
Don’t be discouraged if you find yourself still spending much of your day not in the present. Just keep bringing your mind back to this moment when you realize it’s gone somewhere else. Try to be fully and completely with whatever you are doing at this moment. Most, if not all of my fears that are present in this moment are actually fears of the future. Fears of losing what I have or not getting what I want. So, if I can stay in the present, my fears that may generate from the past and project into the future, will not exist.
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