Live each living day
In the past few weeks, I’ve been invited to at least 5 sessions on mindfulness. That may be the universe trying to give me a message!
As we’re starting the Advent season, the readings for each day focus on waiting, preparedness and the “end of days” — the end of the world. It’s interesting, because this links to the concept of mindfulness in a meaningful way also.
There are times when I slip into “what if...” and wonder how different life would be had I made other choices. (Cue George Michael’s “A Different Corner” here!). There are people who spend most of their lives living in the past, full of regrets, bitterness, anger and disappointment. But the past is fixed, closed and dead. Nothing that we do will make the smallest change to what has happened, and we miss so much of what is happening if we spend our lives constantly reviewing the past.
Then there are times when I think, “once I get to,” that things will change drastically. They don’t, and it’s disappointing. I know people who keep deferring life until... and they’re chronically unhappy.
The other very important phase is to make a note of the end of a thing. It provides necessary closure, and allows the time needed to let go of the past. As I mentioned before, we go through many small losses in our lives, and marking the end of something makes it easier to accept. Full disclosure, I have not fully released many of my most recent losses, and I am working on that!
In the days when I danced, we always opened and closed each session by grounding and centring ourselves. It was important that we paused before beginning to dance, so that we switched mindsets. At the end of the session, the activity served to prepare for the return to the everyday world. Part of every Mass, or prayer session, includes a moment to prepare ourselves for the sacred mysteries — a moment of silence, followed by a reminder of why we gathered. These “touch points” help create the focus for prayer and to calm ourselves. In a more secular environment, the deliberate pause reminds us to “look inward”; but it’s all the same thing — to create a break between activities and bring our full attention to what we are doing now.
I always liked this song by Bon Jovi. The chorus, in particular, feeds into the idea of being fully present... It’s my life, it’s now or never. I ain’t gonna live forever, I just want to live while I’m alive.
Being present in the moment, recognizing that time is fleeting, adds sweetness to living. And now, I’m going to fully enjoy a glass of wine and toast life. Feel free to join me!
As we’re starting the Advent season, the readings for each day focus on waiting, preparedness and the “end of days” — the end of the world. It’s interesting, because this links to the concept of mindfulness in a meaningful way also.
There are times when I slip into “what if...” and wonder how different life would be had I made other choices. (Cue George Michael’s “A Different Corner” here!). There are people who spend most of their lives living in the past, full of regrets, bitterness, anger and disappointment. But the past is fixed, closed and dead. Nothing that we do will make the smallest change to what has happened, and we miss so much of what is happening if we spend our lives constantly reviewing the past.
Then there are times when I think, “once I get to
The other very important phase is to make a note of the end of a thing. It provides necessary closure, and allows the time needed to let go of the past. As I mentioned before, we go through many small losses in our lives, and marking the end of something makes it easier to accept. Full disclosure, I have not fully released many of my most recent losses, and I am working on that!
In the days when I danced, we always opened and closed each session by grounding and centring ourselves. It was important that we paused before beginning to dance, so that we switched mindsets. At the end of the session, the activity served to prepare for the return to the everyday world. Part of every Mass, or prayer session, includes a moment to prepare ourselves for the sacred mysteries — a moment of silence, followed by a reminder of why we gathered. These “touch points” help create the focus for prayer and to calm ourselves. In a more secular environment, the deliberate pause reminds us to “look inward”; but it’s all the same thing — to create a break between activities and bring our full attention to what we are doing now.
I always liked this song by Bon Jovi. The chorus, in particular, feeds into the idea of being fully present... It’s my life, it’s now or never. I ain’t gonna live forever, I just want to live while I’m alive.
Being present in the moment, recognizing that time is fleeting, adds sweetness to living. And now, I’m going to fully enjoy a glass of wine and toast life. Feel free to join me!
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