What does it mean to be in the moment? Some might say it means not thinking about what you are going to do later, or what to make for dinner, or what you’re going to say to your spouse when you get home. But not doing something negative is not the same as doing something positive. How will you know if you are not thinking about what to do later, except to think about what you are doing later?
When you are truly in the moment, you will all of a sudden notice that time has passed and that you’ve thought of nothing but who or what is in front of you. It is a space of clarity and ease. Renowned author Dr. Joe Dispenza, when talking about what people need to do to be happy, says that first you need to stop being unhappy. You might want to read that again. Stop being unhappy. We become addicted to the feelings and emotions that are familiar to us. We think we want to be happy, but are so quick to identify the things that make us unhappy standing in our way. “See I knew it! My boss is a jerk and I’m never going to please him/her so that promotion is never going to happen.” And many people will feel comforted in this thought because it confirms what they already knew and felt – my life is hard and good things don’t happen to me.
So back to the power of the moment. I was hiking recently on a very rocky path. I looked at the various sizes and shapes of the rocks I stepped over and thought to myself how I love to find heart shaped rocks. The first half hour of my hike I had seen many rocks, but didn’t notice any heart shaped ones. But the moment I began to look for them, all of a sudden they were everywhere. The trail hadn’t changed, but my focus had. I was all of a sudden in the moment wanting to see rocks and they appeared. I didn’t fret about how small the chances of finding heart shaped rocks was or how I was bound to be disappointed when I didn’t find them.
The moment has no room for projections or assumptions – it just is. But can you decide to be happy as easily as you decide to see heart shaped rocks? When you are truly in the moment you will be amazed at what shows up. Enjoy the journey!
