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Living In The Present
If you have ever watched someone doing
something they really love you will see how
absorbed they are in the task, their
complete consciousness given over to the
activity. It may be a child playing, or a
singer or dancer performing, or an artist
painting. It’s no coincidence that children
and creative artists share this capacity to
‘lose’ themselves in an activity or task.
This is not the same philosophy of ‘Live for
today and let tomorrow take care of itself,’
which can reflect a disconnection and a lack
of awareness. When people experience living
in the present they are consciously aware of
what it is they are doing. They are in touch
with the most creative part of their mind,
the unconscious, which is where our
intuition resides. They are living in the
present, moment by moment. They are not
reflecting on the past or projecting into
the future. They are operating as fully
functioning human beings, wholly integrated
– mentally, physically, emotionally and
often, spiritually. You could say they are
being present to themselves.
We have all experienced occasions when we
were doing anything but living in the
present. We may have been present physically
but entirely removed both mentally and
emotionally. We may have been re-hashing
upsetting experiences in the past or
worrying about some unknown future. That’s
not to say that it isn’t important to plan
ahead; often it’s essential. Plans change or
need modifying, so they do require
attention. But after the planning stage, the
present is the best place to focus our
energies. So too, reflecting on the past can
teach us useful lessons or can allow us
occasionally to re-visit warm memories. This
though, is not the same as dwelling on the
past, where we might dredge up guilt and
blame ourselves or others, both of which
fill us with negativity and rob us of
precious energy needed to experience life
fully or, at a simple level, to get through
each day.
Buddhist philosophy advocates living in the
present. By practising meditation on a
regular basis it’s possible to experience
this present moment awareness. The body is
stilled, the spine is erect, the mind is
consciously aware of the breath and of those
thoughts which inevitably will arise. They
are simply observed and then let go. It is
this ‘letting go’ of unhelpful influences in
our everyday lives that can help us to work
towards present moment awareness. Another
central Buddhist practice is that of
‘mindfulness’, so that whatever we are
doing, we focus our whole concentration and
energy on this thing, however small. When we
are drinking a cup of tea we are mindful in
the same way as when we are listening to a
friend, we are mindful.
I remember clearly a time when this
influence came into play when I was
travelling. I was on my way back with a
group of people from a trek in the Himalayas
to Annapurna Base Camp. Naturally, we were
‘coming down’ from the mountain, which was a
relief after six days of strenuous walking
up to a height of 4000 metres. On this day I
realised we had to ‘climb’ yet again to
cross this particular stretch of terrain.
The path wound steeply upwards like a snake,
so that as we came round each bend all we
could see ahead was another upward stretch.
This was towards the end of another day of
walking for six or seven hours. I was
exhausted. It was all I could do to put one
foot in front of the other. So that’s what I
did. I didn’t think about how far we had yet
to go or what would be round the next bend.
I just mentally focused on each footstep,
like a walking meditation.
Why is this important and how can we benefit
from practising living in the present? I
believe that, when we can do this, in
however small a way, it has the effect of
drawing us back to our natural centre, of
quietening those nagging thoughts that we
may only ‘hear’ because of habits we
developed or experiences we encountered as
we grew up. Many of these no longer serve
us, if they ever did, and they can drain us
of precious energy. If we can let go of
these, we can experience what it is to feel
safe and to trust our environment. When we
feel safe we can relax physically and
operate mentally in a state of relaxed
alertness. When we are relaxed, the body
functions in a state of balance, or
homeostasis, allowing us to feel safe and
secure. When we feel safe and secure, we can
allow ourselves to be vulnerable and open to
things within us and to our environment; all
of which brings us naturally closer to
creativity, growth and fulfilment.
The next time you catch yourself dwelling
too much on the past or worrying about the
future, try bringing your thoughts and
feelings back to the present moment – moment
by moment, for a few minutes or more – for
as long as you can. Breathe deeply,
concentrate on your breath and be aware of
the difference it makes. |
