Being Present

The world conditions our minds to the next step. Our education system alone does a great job of this. Elementary school, high school, college, grad school or career. We’re always thinking about what’s next. But what if we didn’t? If we were able to be in a pocket where we can sit and face the present moment and all that comes with it, then what? 

Then we begin to be more attuned to the physicality of feelings and emotions. And the hope of what is in that moment. And see life for what it is. Not what it was. Not what it could be. 

So what? (lol - my favorite two-word sentence used to push my students in their writing…)

Life for what it was. Ruminating in the hurt, in the “what ifs?”, in the “if I hads…” Rumination in an effort to be reflective allows us to grow and develop as beings. Absolutely. This is critical as evolving members of the world we participate in. However, rumination and even reflection can often lead to the ‘stuckness’ of the past - the regrets, the achievements, the mistakes, the ‘good times,’ the hurts… if we embrace those moments as just that, a moment, then could we possibly move forward with more ease and liberation by thinking about the present. 

How do I engage with this very moment then? What do I see and feel and do? Despite and in spite of what life was. Life for what it is. There’s something really beautiful about this space. I often don’t allow myself to relish this moment in time. I go from what life was to determining what could be (or should be, for most of us, because we have determined that there is some standard by which we should abide by or live up to).

But alas, the present. The reality. And perhaps this is a space that in privilege we avoid or can avoid. But when we engage head on and openly, what can happen? 

I consider the truth of the notion that things happen with reason and this very moment can be purposeful. And so I do not shy away from monumental upheavals that life throws at me and instead shy away from the conventional reactions. Because in this moment, I am afforded the opportunity to consider what is. In the present, I engage with the very current state of being, I honor myself in the moment because I give space for whatever has brought me there. And by doing so, I am able to live more in the moment as well, not overwhelming my mind with the preceding realities or succeeding possibilities. And in so doing, I am able to make intentional decisions...moves that honor my very being in its very raw, present state. I give myself permission to live into a hope, a faith, that anchors my truths in the very moment rather than ruminate in what was and anxiously await what will be.  

And when I do, when we do, we realize that there is a beauty in giving each moment an opportunity to take form, and see how it crystallizes in the backdrop of each of our lives. Some moments we live into might hurt again or be an amazing celebration, but given our efforts to be present to the present, we continue to be liberated and in doing so, progress in a liberated manner rather than one that is calculated with the mishaps of miscalculations.  

It’s a mindset shift. And it is challenging. But in doing so, in being present, we invite our souls to be free.