Back to the present
Aug 2nd, 2007 by Jason
How often are we really ‘in the present’?
This sounds like it’s going to be some new age, flopsy bunny crap, but I assure you there is no chanting, crystals, rebirthing etc involved.
What this is about it how to use daily events to bring your awareness back to the present.
Here is an example:
I was at work, walking down a narrow corridor that’s just wide enough for two people to pass if they turn sideways. There is a door from the main corridor that opens into the internal corridor, blocking it completely. This obviously represents quite a threat, particularly if you are carrying something, such as a mug of coffee.
Usually, if I am carrying a drink, I approach the door with caution. However, yesterday I must have been on autopilot as I was not carrying a drink, just returning to my desk. As I approached the door it opened, suddenly, not with force but in the way a deliberately opened door moves. (Perhaps a bit fast in the circumstances!)
BAM! I’m immediately in the present.
With no time to think I put out my hand to stop the attacking door, thus also bringing into the present the gentleman who was behind the door.
The great thing about this was that it showed me that my mind had gone to sleep.
I’m halfway through watching Click, a film about a guy who gets a universal remote with which he can control his life. I haven’t finished yet but already what I can see as interesting is how, in the film, it shows people on auto-pilot, drifting through their lives (or sometimes running through them on fast-forward).
I can’t speak for anyone else, but I would like to have my mind in the present (unless I choose to put it elsewhere).
Recognising the little events, like the example above, that are opportunities to show us that we have drifted away to the future, the past or just plain zoned, out is important when trying to maintain our awareness of the present.
How many times has this happened to you today and, did you notice? More importantly - did you blame someone else for your lack of mindfulness appreciate or appreciate the opportunity to become more focused?