Our favorite guest blogger David Erskine returns with a meaningful piece about why we must travel into the present.
By David Erskine
Where do we choose to live? The past, the present, or the future? I often ask myself this question, and I think it’s good for all of us to reflect on it.
The great Eckhart Tolle says we only really have the present moment. Yet, we can easily get caught up in “psychological” time by reliving and re-litigating the past. Conversely, we constantly anticipate the future and live each day focused on what might or might not happen tomorrow. Thinking on this leads me to a couple of other questions:
- How does dwelling on memories or getting stuck in the anticipation of tomorrow impact the moment we’re in now?
- What do these habits do to the canvas we can paint in each precious moment?
Many people think about “staying” in the moment. I think, instead, it’s more active. We must travel into the present.
Ways to travel into the present
Perhaps you’re interested in joining me on this journey. If so, here are three tips that help me navigate the path to that meaningful “now” between the past and the future:
- Embrace What Is. Think about how we structure our day. Maybe we’re working full-time, managing a business, getting a degree, or raising a family. All of these require a daily game plan. Over the years, I’ve learned to create that plan during exercise (usually jogging) for 30 minutes each morning before I start my day. As I jog, my mind clears, and I move into the present. As my heart and lungs are getting their day started, so is my mind. Oddly enough, this simple activity has often prepared me for the inevitable unexpected events in this thing called life.
- Accept What Is. As Eckhart Tolle has said, “When you accept what is, every moment is your best moment. This is Enlightenment.” This, too, has become my daily practice and meditation. It takes practice, but the good news is that we can practice it repeatedly. We breathe continually without thinking about it. Like the lungs, the brain is an organ, but instead of breathing, it constantly generates thousands of thoughts. We may continue to get caught up with each thought. However, we do get to choose which thoughts to act on. That is the key.
- Gratitude and Giving. I learned recently that recovery programs encourage writing a gratitude list every day. I started this practice recently and found it uplifting and easy, requiring just a few minutes. It’s also another way to journey into the present moment. It inspired me to do ten good deeds every day. These are often simple things like saying hello to a fellow jogger or thanking my Bikram yoga teacher for a great class.
My favorite, however, is making others laugh. I have a boatload of clean dad jokes that I tell the local barista, cashier, or others I see every week. Seeing a smile on someone’s face brings joy. I have been doing this for so long that when I go to my coffee shop, they tell me jokes or ask for the joke of the day.
Find your way of bringing joy, and the return will be tenfold. And here is YOUR dad joke of the day:
What’s your favorite thing about Switzerland? I don’t know, but the flag is a Big Plus!
Be sure to VOTE.
David Erskine
World Traveler, Poet, Actor, Taxi-Driver…Blogger
