Every year I feel like we are launched into an even faster paced world of overdrive and mayhem.
Christmas and holiday decorations arrive on the scene long before anyone has a chance to even think about Halloween. Then it’s November and we are on the bullet train heading right into the frantic holiday season.
Schedules fill up. To do lists get longer. Traffic seems more chaotic. Everyone is in a hurry.
We have become so used to this world that we just put our heads down and plow through it all, regardless how uncomfortable or exhausted we are. We pop out of the vortex in January and wonder what happened. Where did the time go? How did we get here?
What if this season we shifted our mindset and focused on “being” rather than “doing”?
I’m talking about presence.
How can we pay attention and notice all of the moments that make up this thing called life?
When you allow yourself to be present, to fully experience each unique moment, you feel more awake and alive. You give yourself the opportunity to see things more clearly and be an observer of the world. You give yourself permission to just be.
I’m certainly not suggesting that you abandon your responsibilities, toss out your to do lists and neglect your holiday traditions. I’m merely encouraging you to allow space so that you can fully experience each precious moment that life gives us.
Presence allows me to take in the crisp, cool smell of autumn and the vibrant colors of the leaves. It allows me to laugh at the antics of my dogs and to smile at the joy of students in my yoga classes.
Presence also allows me to have patience when I’m sitting in traffic, running late or dealing with a difficult emotion. I tune into that tension in my body and use my breath as a way to reconnect myself when I feel overwhelmed. Presence doesn’t negate the challenges, but it offers us the space to navigate through them and become more resilient in the end.
Presence reminds me that I am capable, strong and able to do anything I set my mind to do. It reminds me that I only have this one beautiful life with all of its beauty and its challenges.
I don’t want to waste a single moment of it. Do you?
Be well everyone.
Laura
“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
