"The Reality of Your Life is Now"

I've been taking teacher trainings since 2006 and have been doing yoga well before that. One constant that's always been said in class is to be present. Over and over I've heard this saying, yet it's still a constant struggle for me to remember that. I tell my students throughout class a handful of times to be present, come back to the breath. I swear I can see it in their eyes when their mind is elsewhere. Instead of looking relaxed, they have this blank look on their face.

As humans, our minds love to wander. We flitter from one thought to the next. Some make sense, others are quite random. We're constantly needing reminders to be present. Our  minds tend to hang out in the past, trying to figure out how we could've done things differently, or wishing we were still there instead of our current situation. If we're not stuck in the past we're daydreaming about the future. We dream about how it will be better than the present moment because we'll have achieved some great thing by then.

Why is this, why aren't we content with where we are? Maybe if we weren't so caught up with being someplace else, our present moment could be amazing and the only place we'd want to be. Maybe if we focused on our current situation, even if it sucked, we could figure out a way to make it better, rather than suffer through it till something else comes along. What if that something else never come along? What then?

Nothing is worse than waking up from a great dream to find yourself in misery. When we don't live in the present, that's what we're doing. We're constantly checking out because we don't like where our life is in the present moment. If you check out, you can't fix what's wrong, therefore your future will be just as bleak and not the greatness you dream it to be. As Sam Harris says, "We're continually hoping the future will make us happy, but it never does." You have to open your eyes and see what's wrong and fix it. If your eyes are always closed and dreaming, nothing will change, your bad dream will continue.

Check out this video by Sam Harris. He talks about how important being present is. He says that; "The reality of your life is now. What we truly have is this moment." The images in the video, along with its words, immerses you in the present moment and shows you how powerful it can be. He talks about dropping the issues that don't serve you and enjoying the moment. To be attentive to the present because it will be gone before you know it.

By being attentive, we're living life rather than coasting through it waiting for the day it gets good. Life is hard and bad things happen. We have to face them and work through them, not just hope they'll work themselves out while we dream of a better life. That's the only way life will get better. Bad things don't go away by ignoring them and when we check out, that's exactly what we're doing. By being truly present, when good things happen, we can fully enjoy them and reap the goodness that emits from it. That way, when we're faced with challenges, we have some encouragement in us, knowing that not all of life is bad.

Time slips by so quickly. Do you want to look back on life and say, "where did it all go" or "I lived a full life"? We all know that you can't change the past, but you can control the present and how you react to it. Live it fully by engaging completely in everything you do. From important things such as your work all the way down to tying your shoes. The challenge about being mindful, is the ability to focus on one thing at a time. When you walk your dog, focus on walking your dog, not the calls you have to return or what's for dinner.

Live with intention, awareness and, most importantly, learn to let go. We often live in the past because we haven't let go of something. At the end of one of my teacher trainings, the students in the class had a lot of strong emotions come up.  Our teacher had us go on a short walk down to a nearby lake. She asked us to focus on each step we took, to walk with attention.

 Before we started our walk we all found a rock that we liked. As we walked to the lake, we were to put all of our negative thoughts and emotions that had come up during the training into our rock. Once we reached the lake, if we wanted, we could share what it was we were letting go of, otherwise we took our rock and threw it in the lake. We were literally throwing away our problems. The splash that the rock made as it hit the water was such a release. I felt the weight of my issues lift off my chest and watched as they sunk to the bottom of the lake.

There are a lot of rituals available to symbolize releasing your issues. I encourage you to try one, they do have quite an impact. They're not a permanent fix, but set you on a healing path. Sometimes we have to let go of something many times before it finally leaves.

What about daydreaming about the future? Turn it from a dream into reality. Make a plan outlining how you can achieve your dream. If the plan will take years, give yourself little deadlines to achieve each day, week or month. Having a goal to work towards will help keep you present and grounded. Work with intention on your plan every day, even if it's just for a few minutes. If you find yourself slacking and daydreaming again, revisit your plan, make sure it still fits what you want.

Life will pass you by and there are no guarantees how long your life will be. Live each moment so when the day comes that you're sick, hurt or just made it to old age, that you can look back and smile, knowing you lived a full life.



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