Is life complicated or do we just make it so? I believe life is much simpler than we make it. I am sure there will be many of you who are reading this saying to yourselves “life is complicated, what’s he talking about? He doesn’t understand all of the problems I have and they are definitely not simple problems.” If you are thinking along these lines right now or have had similar thoughts in the past, then I say to you, you’re complicating things

We can make life as simple or as complicated as we wish. Some people look at the glass half full and some will see it as half empty. Both views are correct but only one will result in happiness. Seeing our lives as simple or complicated is a similar choice. Which one will you choose? You do have a choice, you know? Sure, we can make our problems bigger and more complicated than they actually are which will surely strip us of our peace and happiness or we can choose to keep life simple.

So, just how do we keep life and all its problems and intricacies simple? Well, it’s simple, of course. I want you to try an experiment right now. Are you sitting? If not, sit. Where are you right now? Literally, where is your but? Look at your surroundings. Are you alone? If not, who is with you? What are you doing at this moment? I will assume that you are reading this post. So, that’s it. This is your life at this moment. What’s complicated about life at this moment? I am not saying that your life is easy but rather that it is simple. All we have is this moment, no more and no less. That’s it. That is all any of us have. How can you complicate this instant, this moment? Life is comprised of a series of moments so all we need to do is live in this moment, no more and no less.

“Yea, but I lost my job and don’t know how I am going to pay the mortgage” or “I have an illness and am very sick” or “I am getting a divorce”. If these or similar are your objections, then I will say it again, I am not saying that your life is easy but rather that it is simple. Even if all these things were true simultaneously in your life, the results of the experiment are still the same. Don’t make life any more difficult or complicated than it needs to be. Just be with this very moment right now. All of your problems may still exist but you can keep them simple by living in this moment as opposed to projecting negatively into the future. For example, “I lost my job and don’t know how I am going to pay the mortgage. I will be on the streets and my credit will be ruined. I don’t know where we will go”. Those may or may not be unreasonable thoughts, but right now in this very moment, does thinking in such a way help? All we can do is the next right thing and then we need to let go of the results and simply live in this moment. Be present to the task at hand as that is all we truly have. How sad it is that we lose so many moments because our minds are elsewhere.

Let’s take this one step further so that we can learn to be happy and at peace in this moment. Are you ready for the big answer? If you want to be happy and at peace in this moment all you need to do is accept this moment as it is. Are you calling me names yet? Listen, I understand that most of us will not be able to practice such philosophies perfectly and that it will most likely take time to develop such a practice. If we were able to hear such truths and immediately practice them with perfection then I wouldn’t need to post any other articles. All of the self-improvement & spiritual teachers would need to find something else to do with their time. So…we practice.

Most of us cannot simply accept life as it is at this moment with perfection which is why I have written many other posts on this site to help you in your quest for happiness.

When we worry about the future we ruin the present moment. The fears of what tomorrow might bring are experienced in the here and now, so how can we be happy at a given moment if we are worrying about the future at that same moment? That’s not a trick question The answer is, that are happiness will be affected if we are simultaneously living in fear of the future.

If you think about it, it’s actually rather foolish to ruin the moment by worrying about what may never come to be, but we’ve all done it. Some of what we fear may come to fruition but worrying about it in the present moment doesn’t help. Most of what we worry about probably will never happen but that’s beside the point. The point is that all we have is this moment, nothing more and nothing less, just right now. The past is but a memory and the future is not here and may or may not come for us so let us be with the only time that we truly have which is this moment. When we truly live in the moment there can be no fear of tomorrow or regrets about the past because we are not thinking of them. Sure, you can learn from your past and plan for your future but that’s not what I am talking about here. And until you get good at living in the moment, do what you can to stay out of the past and future all together as you’ll most likely skew the boundaries between planning for your future and learning from your past with worry and regret. When we are worrying about tomorrow we are also missing out on whatever it is that we are experiencing at that moment. We are not fully appreciating life and I find that sad.

One way to eliminate your fears of the future is to have faith in a Higher Power, so I will suggest reading my posts titled Letting Go, Get Faith and Let’s Talk About God. Such faith is quite helpful to us as we try to stay in this moment. Trusting in the way things are and the way things will be can make living in the moment much easier for us. So, go get some faith

This business of living in the moment need not be complicated. On the contrary, it is extremely simple. We tend to complicate life by thinking too much. Living a life based on the principles set forth on this site requires work and effort on out part. What I’m suggesting here requires no effort. All you need to do is just be with this moment. It takes effort to keep our brain spinning about what the future holds for us and the resulting fears drain our present energy. All you need to do is be with this moment. Stop… look where you are and be aware of what you are doing at this moment. That’s it.

If you do this, you will eliminate your fears of the future. Don’t expect perfection here. Your mind will wander into the future again. When you notice that you’ve left this moment, don’t beat yourself up about it just come back to it. You’ll get better with practice. The more you are able to be with this moment, the less you will worry about the future and the more you will appreciate the here and now. What you’re doing here is actually a form of meditation which I’m sure I’ll discuss in posts to come. May you be happy and at peace.

This concludes part one. Part two of this post is titled “Don’t Think So Much“.

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.

All else the same, it is certainly easier to be happy with money than without. Maybe money doesn’t buy happiness, but it helps But, we can be happy and poor at the same time. Most, if not all of us have blessings or positive areas of our lives. Granted, some more than others. Whether we choose to focus on our blessings or our problems, is our choice. Worrying how we’re going to pay the bills is understandable, but it’s not helpful. Of course, try your best to find a job if you’re unemployed, maybe more than one job if necessary & cut back on expenses. Perhaps you could sell a few personal items to bring in some extra money or call some creditors to see if they will allow you to skip a payment or two. The point is, do the necessary footwork to help solve your financial woes.

So, now you’re doing everything you can to help yourself get out of your financial mess. This should help you to feel a little better anyway. Now, what about those blessings I mentioned earlier. I’m sure you have them and most of you probably don’t need to look very far to see them. Focus as much as possible on these blessings while continuing to do the next right thing in your life, keeping in mind that we have no control over other peoples decisions. For example, you can apply to 20 jobs this week and not receive one interview. All you can do is your best and then you need to let go of the results. Trust in the way your life is unfolding because you really don’t have a whole lot of control over what others do and the decisions they make that impact your life. Don’t get me wrong here, we need to do the footwork in this life to get where we want to go and many times that effort visibly pays off. You’ll certainly want do your best to convince a potential employer that you’re the person for the job but you ultimately have no control over their final decision.

What we do have control over is our actions, our decisions, our choices. It’s challenging enough to lose a job and struggle to pay the bills. Why add negativity to the mix? Be positive, appreciate your blessings, do the things you couldn’t do while you were working. You’ll be back to work soon enough Would you rather be told that your child, spouse, parents or other loved was dying of cancer or that you lost your job and had to live in a one room apartment? I’ll take the latter any day and be oh so grateful despite the fact that I don’t know how I am going to pay the bills.

If you’re having a difficult time realizing your blessings, make a list of them. Do you have loved ones, a husband or wife, children, parents, siblings, or other family or friends? Do you have a pet that you love and that loves you? Do you presently have a roof over your head? Do you have food in the fridge? Are you or your loved ones healthy? Can you walk or talk? Do you have the physical and mental capacity to get a job? Do you have good memories? Can you smell the air and the flowers? Can you see? Maybe you have some of these blessings in your life, maybe you have them all. I hope you will be able to add other blessings to this list.

We can also take solace in knowing that we are most definitely not alone. Millions of others are in the same financial boat and many are much, much worse off than most of us are. There are children dying right now because they have no food to eat, never mind a computer to use. If you are to the point of not having food to eat, then I am truly sorry and cannot relate to such a level of poverty.

In summary, here’s what we need to do:

1) We need to focus on our blessings, all the positive in our lives, not dwell on our financial problems.
2) Worry is a negative emotion that helps no one, so stop worrying! Let go of your life and trust that it is happening the way it is supposed to happen.
3) Do the necessary footwork, the next right thing to achieve your desired results of your life.
4) Remember…you’re not alone.