Let’s be honest with each other. Sometimes we say or do stupid things when we are not paying attention. My family has a good laugh when remembering one of the random things I said during a dinner time prayer.
It was one of those evenings when I was on autopilot. It was my turn to say the dinner grace and my mind was anywhere but on that prayer. As I said thanks for the food and for family in the same way I usually do, my mind went somewhere else, but my words were on autopilot. Instead of saying, “Amen” I said, “Thanks and good night”. The laughter started in a nanosecond. “Thanks and good night” while not altogether wrong, sounds more like someone ending a talk show than a prayer.
This is yet another reminder of how easy it is to live outside of the present moment. Our minds can pull us toward thoughts of past events and future events and the present moment before us gets lost.
I’ve had conversations with my wife where I was physically there but mentally far away. When I get the question, “Are you listening?”, I have to admit that I wasn’t.
I’ve had too many mornings where I’m thinking of the things I need to accomplish at work and I think, “did I brush my teeth?”. My thoughts were so consumed with the future that I wasn’t paying attention to the present task of getting ready for work. I think that happens to many of us.
I’ve missed off ramps, turns, and destinations because I’ve been so engrossed in something I was thinking about. Some might call this ADD. I call it not living in the moment.
Living in the moment allows us to connect with the work we are doing, the people around us, and ourselves. But I’m learning that living in the moment is not something we do, but rather a skill we build.
It takes time and practice to live in the present and to not allow our minds to lead us to past events that we can’t change or the future events that haven’t’ happened yet. I find the more our thoughts are centered on the past or the future we are missing out on life because life only happens in the now.
Mentally living in the past or the future is not innocuous. It causes real stress in our lives and heightens our anxiety. It causes us to miss out on meaningful experiences in our relationships. It leads us to ignore the beauty around us. It slows down our productivity at work. It’s not helpful.
The culture around us doesn’t make this easy. We are bombarded with news, marketing, and advertisements that pulls our attention away from the present. Our lives our busy with work, family, and activity. There is always something to do and somewhere to go.
In my life I’m working on practicing more presence in my day. Here’s what I try to do:
- Take deep breaths throughout my day
- Turn off the news and the news feeds
- Stop checking my email every 2 minutes
- Get off of social media when I need to focus at work
- Go for a run/take a walk
- Pull my attention to the present when my mind wanders
Like I said before, living in the present is a skill we build and with more practice the easier it gets.
My call to action for you is to adopt one or two strategies each day to pull your attention back to the present moment. Living in the moment is a life practice and small steps each day will make a difference.