Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Be Here Now

The snow is still falling outside. I realize that I should really be crafting/sewing/painting right now (or washing dishes, but that's another story). My little studio room is so cold, though. Creativity has a hard time flowing in the cold. I've had a lot of things going through my head lately. I'll think of something that I want to share with you, something I need to post about or something that is inspiring me. And before I know it, the thought gets washed away like a pretty seashell that you try to grab before the tide carries it out. But one thought keeps hanging around in there. One thought hasn't washed away. And this is it:

Live in the Present, for the Present is the only place where you can truly reside.

I was thinking about this because of all the Valentine's paraphernalia that is all over the place. We live in a society that jumps directly from one holiday to the next, never reveling in the days that fill the spaces between. As soon as Halloween is over, Thanksgiving decor is everywhere. No more is Thanksgiving over than the Christmas season begins. Then New Year's Eve gives way to Valentine's Day. Once the Valentine candy is cleared off of the shelves, there will be Easter candy in it's place. And so on and so forth.

Why is it that people don't want to live the day they are in? I'm not saying that every day should be special, even though being able to live it is. I'm just saying that we can only be in one place at one time. We are no longer in the past. The past affects us, yes. But it is over and there is no way of going back. We are not in the future yet. What we do today may affect it, yes. But we cannot get there any faster than we already are.

The only place where we can truly reside is in the present. If you are living anywhere else, you are not truly living. How can you do the present justice if you are living in the past? How can you expect to have a fulfilling future if you are not filling the present?

I am not one to make resolutions. Never have been. But this year I would like to be more of an advocate for my present life. I have the tendency to postpone my own happiness. I put off the things that I know will make me happy in this moment. Scheduling that massage. Getting a new haircut. Painting my nails, as simple as that sounds. I always say to myself "I will wait for a special occasion to get that massage." "I'll paint my nails if we go out this weekend." Things like that. But why? Why not go ahead and do the things that will put a smile on my face?

So in honor of living in the present, I am truly going to try to stop postponing happiness. I may fail over and over, but I intend to at least try. And I hope you will, too. Let's all make this present life a better one. You with me?

*photo via Design Sponge.

6 comments:

Color Me Green said...

yes i'm in. the whole point is to get as much fulfillment as we can out of this life, whatever that means for each person!

Dawn said...

What a wonderful way to live!!!! I wish I could do this a wee bit better:(
Thanks for the reminder (and inspiration!!)

E said...

I'm in too. I don't like that there are Easter eggs in the supermarkets already - I'm still getting over the Christmas blowout.

I don't tend to look to the past all that much, but rather to the future. Like it says in my profile 'I'm always waiting for something big to happen but it never does.' Why can't I just be happy to live right now, enjoy this moment? Gah.

Anyway, this is a good reminder. And I like your new blog design too, I've been thinking about updating mine but I can't find any that feel right!

Have a good weekend, lovely.

mimilove forever said...

Yep we had easter eggs in the shops on Boxing Day...sigh!
Well I'm on board with you missus!! x;)

McKenzie said...

Such an important reminder -- it's so hard to stay in the present, but it certainly helps! :)

ChinkyGirLMeL said...

"Live in the Present, for the Present is the only place where you can truly reside." This is sooooooooo true. With everything that has happened, I have learned that sometimes I need to stop planning for tomorrow and just make the most of what I have today