13. Learn to Live in Today – Tomorrow May Never Come
Learning to live in today is about appreciating what there is now more than harking back to what once was, or anxiously awaiting what tomorrow might bring.
It doesn’t mean negating the responsibilities you have, by any means. It is more to do with attempting to capture the ever present now.
Can such a habit be developed? I think so.
Here are some simple methods I use to practise the ‘now’:
- Close my eyes for 2 minutes, and listen to the sounds around me. This is an interesting twist on what many people do to change their state of consciousness. By listening to the sounds, I am attempting to take them in fully for what they are, what they represent. It’s as if I’m letting the sounds happen to me.
- Watch something intently that changes slowly with time, seeking to observe something you haven’t seen before. My favorite has been watching small bubbles of water rise in a bowl of soapy water.
- Spend time with my 3 year old, and watch how she gains enjoyment from the smallest of things.
- Watch clouds for 5 minutes, and see how they slowly change shape over time
- Watch the shadows on a wall slowly change as the Earth turns
There are probably many other ways to cultivate the sense of now. The idea is to become a better observer through your senses. This focus on the things around you in time somehow shifts your mind away from past and future, and helps you re-gain the now-ness that you almost certainly had when you were very young.
At its core, there is a sense of appreciation in this technique.
Learning to live in today is all about appreciating what we have around us, and seeking for deeper treasures than at first seem apparent. It’s not about abandoning our plans, or about being irresponsible. As adults, we tend to have a very strong sense of how we square up to those things. At the time of writing, many of you will be all too aware of the fragility of life, and how precious it really is.
So take the time, to share this day with others that you care about, and help them celebrate what is so near to you, but so easily missed.
