Present Tense

"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift...

that's why they call it the present."

We all got a challenge at school last night. We are supposed to try and stay in the present, ALL DAY LONG. No reminiscing of the past, no worrying about the future, no fantasizing about things you'd rather be doing.

This is hard. I'm not even kidding... it's as hard as trying to meditate. When you really focus on trying to quiet your mind... that's when you really realize how noisy it is. My mind never stops. I think it's safe to say that I spend 85% of my day dreaming about things I would rather be doing, like travelling to a new place. The past, the future, but mostly, make believe. The only time I've noticed myself NOT fantasizing about other places... is when I'm going to other places.

It's so difficult to be here, bored at work, and not take time to zone out and analyze the past or contemplate the future.

If you think about it, we really do spend so much time worrying about a tomorrow, that truthfully may never come. Or worrying about a past event that we can not change.

Live for this second only.

At this second, I am listening to Radio From Hell. It's a commercial break. I am waiting for my oatmeal to cool down, and the scent of warm maple is intoxicating. I am sitting as straight as I can and trying not to hold my shoulders up (like I always do when I type). I can hear Bill and Randi discussing flowers in the room behind me. I know there is work I could be doing... BUT I am living in the now.. And now, I am typing in my blog.

I implore you.... Try it. It's quite an interesting challenge. Focus on everything that is happening to you and around you every single second. If your mind wanders, re-focus and bring it back to the now. It's supposed to be a 21 day challenge. -We'll see if I can do it for one day.-

(There is something significant about 21 days... I don't technically know why, but I imagine that's how long it takes to shift something in your brain, to re-wire your thought patterns. I'll have to look into that.)

I will end with some quotes from Buddha:



“What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow: Our life is the creation of our mind.”

“To get up each morning with the resolve to be happy... is to set our own conditions to the events of each day. To do this is to condition circumstances instead of being conditioned by them.”

“We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.”

NAMASTE