“Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate
the mind on the present moment”. –Buddha
Life is like a road – a journey into the unknown lies ahead and the past lies miles behind.
What I have come to love so much about yoga is the philosophy of living in the moment. I never actually thought about that concept before. Of course in my younger days when I was growing up and even in college, much of my life was lived selfishly and unselfishly in the present. In the eyes of a child, that is what life is all about. Yet once I started getting older and more responsibilities came my way, the idea of living in the present seemed like a rather hard way to live.
I’d gone through countless amounts of unsatisfactory jobs and never seemed to find my passion in my career after I graduated college. Each job felt like a trap and no job felt like what I’d dreamed of doing as a young, fully inspired student. College felt like a dream. I love to learn and immensely enjoyed the freedom, growth and excitement of those four amazing years. College, like my parents promised, was the best time of my life. I felt significantly disappointed in the “real” world after university. This is around the time that I began forgetting about the idea of living in the moment unless of course it was the weekend or I was on vacation.
Fast forward twenty years and the routine of life makes it difficult for anyone especially a parent to live life in the moment. But I’m trying. Why? Because living in the moment is a better way to live. To enjoy each day to the fullest extent possible no matter what. Yes, it sounds dreamily idealistic but it is a much better way to live. Sadly it took going through a difficult, trying time in my life to figure this key to life’s happiness out. Dealing with all the uncertainty of my dad’s cancer, living in the moment has become my way of dealing with his illness. The minute I start worrying about all the “what if’s” I remind myself to stop and live in the present. In the now. Live each day as it comes and not stress out about all the uncertainties and unknowns about the future.
To enjoy living in the moment, it takes practice and constant adjustments. It is hard but when the mind starts to slip away I remember the tricks I’ve learned at yoga. Meditation, relaxation, breathing and trying to not let my mind go wild.
“Learn from the past, set vivid, detailed goals for the future, and live in the only moment of time over which you have any control: now”. – Denis Waitley
