“Living in the moment brings you a sense of reverence for all of life’s blessings.”
~ Oprah Winfrey
Life is filled with many challenges. Opportunities to feel frustrated, hurt, angry, irritated, jealous, sad, incompetent, discouraged, overwhelmed…are served up to us constantly. Sometimes we bite the hook and fall prey to these emotions and our day takes a turn for the worse. What started out to be a pleasant morning turns into an ugly afternoon. The quality of our lives is deeply affected by the way we respond to what happens around us…if we allow it.
We are taught how to care for our bodies if they are sick, we are told what foods to eat to bring us health. We are told what exercises to do to keep up our physical strength. We know how to service our cars to keep them running, can read up on parenting tips to keep from ruining our children, and have periodic performance reviews to help us continually improve at work. Yet, perhaps the most important exercise and behavioral change we can ever learn how to do is how to positively respond to whatever comes our way. Each time we are proactively reacting and directing our own emotional responses, we are in control of our own lives. When we let the circumstance or situation or other person negatively affect our day, then we essentially hand over our power and become victims of something or someone outside of ourselves.
The best spiritual exercise (and it is spiritual because it affects out spirit) is to learn how to be present, and that requires being ever conscious of our breathing. Just like toning our muscles takes daily exercise, so too do we need to frequently practice the art of breathing as a tool to relax, stay centered, grounded, calm and quiet. From this place, we can make more balanced choices and be responsive to the world around us in a way that generate healthy, balanced and positive reactions.
Another thing we can do is find gratitude in simple little things that are in our lives. We do that best by staying in the moment. Start off the day with being grateful for having a comfortable mattress. Luxuriate in the way it supports your body. If it’s raining, be thankful for the plants getting watered; if it’s cold, think about how lucky you are to have heat. If the project at work gets rejected, appreciate the opportunity to be more creative. If someone rejects you, realize that perhaps it’s best that they move on so there is more room for those who appreciate you.
Of course, some of the best opportunities to practice being in the moment is when you are met with surprise at some random moment in the day. Perhaps a person says or does something that irritates or hurts you. Be grateful. This is not a problem; it is an opportunity to exercise your spiritual muscle. Understand that this person, given their own human shortcomings and fears, is doing the best they know how in that moment. Find a way to be thankful for absolutely everything that enters your life and your life will never be the same again.