One Step at a Time
As I walk along the path in one of our local parks, I focus on all that is around me – the birds as they fly from tree to tree calling to each other, the sound of the river nearby, the breeze moving the leaves on the ground and the branches of the trees and the feel of the beautiful sunshine. With each step I enjoy all that I can see, feel and hear. For me this is focusing on living in the now.
It is being able to stay focused on what is happening around me and within me right here and now. Not an easy task for someone who has a very active mind that likes to look at all possibilities of what is happening in my life. Staying in that focus of the now requires practice and a constant reminder to myself to come back to this place, as my mind starts to skip forward and backwards.
This does not mean that I don’t do the practical planning that is needed to allow my life to move forward as smoothly as possible. Those practicalities are important as, with them in place, it is easier to stay in the now as I move through my days. It means that I have a plan in place which is flexible enough for me to shift and change as needed to be able to safely navigate my days, doing all that I need to do, incorporating the last minute changes but also staying in the present moment as I complete each task.
It also doesn’t mean that I can’t dream about what I want in my life. Those dreams are important as it is from my dreams that I can shape my future reality. It seems to me that I can step through my life by dreaming a bit, and then allowing the dreams that really attract me to come into a practical reality which I can then step through, one moment at a time.
It is the ‘what ifs’ that trip me up and take me out of that living in the now focus. What if I don’t arrive on time, what if I forget to do, what if I …. And the list is endless. My mind, if I allow it can see a multitude of different things that can go wrong with any one event and, if I allow it, will then spiral out into all sorts of different scenarios. When I realise this is happening I consciously bring myself back into the present moment, into the now, into what is happening right now – not what might happen. All those might happens are a waste of time as I know from experience that they probably won’t happen. And if they do, then I deal with them as they happen because that is the only time that I am able to find the right solution to be able to move through them.
What if’s take me out of the present moment into a whole world of worry and fear. They allow my mind to project me into so many different possibilities that I lose the ability to see clearly where I am moving to.
For me this is why I try and stay focused in the now. This is the only time that exists and it is there for me to do all the practicalities but, more importantly, to focus on what is happening around me and feel the joy of living this life. Even in the midst of turmoil, I find I can feel that peace and clarity if I allow myself to stay centred in what is happening at the time. It is only when I allow my mind to free flow forward into all those possibilities that I lose the connection with all that is around me, that I lose that feeling of clarity that comes with living in the now.
Barbara Hand
12.12.24