Happiness In The Present Moment

With the school year back in full swing, I’ve been thinking about and focusing on being more present in the moment.

During the summer, maintaining presence was easier because the pace of our life for my family was slower—fewer practices and games, no rushing to get the boys ready for school and on the bus, more time just being together, and overall just less “stuff” going on so it was easier to maintain being present because there were fewer things fighting for my attention.

But, with the school year, that all changes. 

As is the case with many families, the mornings start early and getting the boys ready spills into the work day, which spills into getting the boys to the various practices, which spills into dinner, which spills into bedtime, which spills into trying to decompress before bed by realizing all of the “things” that didn’t get done during the day—no wonder so many people go to bed unhappy and wake up feeling the same. 

With a schedule like this, it’s easy to forget to be present as you begin to think about what’s coming up or what you didn’t get done earlier—thinking about the future or the past and missing the present. 

It’s in these moments of living in the future or the past that frustration, unhappiness, anxiety, and other low-vibration emotions come up.

In his book, Oneness With All Life, Eckhart Tolle writes,

“People believe themselves to be dependent on what happens for their happiness, that is to say, dependent on form. They don’t realize that what happens is the most unstable thing in the universe. It changes constantly. They look at the present moment as either marred by something that has happened and shouldn’t have or as deficient because of something that has not happened but should have. And so they miss the deeper perfection that is inherent in life itself, a perfection that is always already here, that lies beyond what is happening or not happening, beyond form. Accept the present moment and find perfection that is deeper than any form and untouched by time.”

As Eckhart highlights, and I didn’t think about before reading this, not only are you thinking about what you need to do later in the day or what you didn’t do earlier, if you happen to be thinking about the present moment, there is a good chance you are thinking about how THAT moment is not occurring the way you think it should have, instead of appreciate the present moment for what it is. Even if that moment is not what you expected it to be, you can still find happiness by allowing your Self to appreciate it for what it is

Finding presence in the chaotic lives we have allowed to become our norm can start with simply recognizing when you are living in the future or the past and shifting your attention to that very moment by simply saying, “I am present”. That short phrase immediately brings you to the present moment, which allows you to consciously stay in the moment, should you decide to. 

And, now you’re on your way to finding the perfection Eckhart refers to when you accept the present moment

I won’t promise accepting the present moment will be easy, especially when you first begin, but if the summer showed me anything, it is worth it.

See you tomorrow and keep pursuing,

JC