Presence

Being present is something that challenges most of us a lot of the time. Unless our immediate circumstances are delightful (or threatening) we just leave some or most of our awareness in a more compelling temporal zone, either the past or the future. Anything is better, we seem to believe, than here and now.

We seem to think the purpose of life is to provide us with entertainment, so we channel surf our memories and our dreams instead of living this minute.

I suspect many of us live in this half-hearted fashion most of our lives, until death brushes by us and we realize that every single boring or banal minute is precious, if only because it is a minute in which we choose what we will do with it.

As I strive to be present more often, to both bear witness to my experience and to act more consciously, I find my life infinitely richer. Richer as I live it and richer in memory. In order to remember something, you have to take it in in the first place. I admit with regret that there are whole months in my past that are undifferentiated blurs. I recall the merest outline of: went to work, came home, hung out with friends and family, did not enough housework, shopped, you know, stuff...

So this week, add a little something extra to your daily grind, stay present: the magic ingredient is yourself!

This is post 83 of 100 posts in 100 days.
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