The notion of being in the present moment forms the basis of so much wisdom and spiritual guidance. We hear it in Yoga class and read about it in books on meditation but putting theory aside, how does being in the present moment actually manifest itself in real life?
I wrote a post some time ago which focused mainly on the theory of being in the present moment and in this post I want to share with you some details of my past 24 hours and how I’ve finally managed to put some of this theory into practice. This post was inspired by an email I received from a reader called Tom who wanted to know my take on ‘embracing now’. When I got his email I wondered how I was going to explain my thoughts on the subject without some actual experience of the theory to back up my words. I didn’t have to wait too long.
When we open ourselves up to the idea of being in the present moment, I think that the universe aligns to present us with ample opportunities to practice that very idea and it does so exactly at times when we feel least able to do so. Yesterday saw me receive plenty of such opportunities.
At 2.50pm I stood at the side of the main street in Ubud waiting for the 3pm shuttle bus back to Kuta. I had been warned that it may be as late as 5 or 10 minutes because of traffic on the roads, so I wasn’t too concerned as 3 o’ clock came and went. I had also been told that the journey would take an hour and I’d planned my day accordingly.
I’d gotten up early to take a woman I’d met the day before to see the beautiful rice field vistas I’d myself discovered earlier that day. This gave me enough time to make a start on the days blog post before visiting Monkey Forest and having lunch before catching my 3pm bus. I figured that if I was to be back in Kuta by 4pm then I’d have plenty of time to stop off at a cafe with wi-fi to finish and publish my post before getting home to have dinner with the family I have living here in Bali.
As I waited patiently for the overdue bus, I felt undeniably smug at how much I was managing to cram into my day and still stick to my commitment of publishing every day in the month of July. By 3.25pm, my attitude had shifted, considerably. Familiar feelings of impatience, frustration and worry started to flood my mind and without thinking I had fast forwarded to a future that hadn’t even happened yet, as I imagined standing in the ticket booking office complaining angrily to the woman behind the counter about the no show.
Suddenly I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to see the driver waving a slip of paper with my name on it, “over here” he said as he beckoned to the mini bus I hadn’t even notice pull up beside me. Thank god I thought as I jumped into the front seat of the bus, glancing anxiously at my watch and recalculating that I’d be in Kuta by 4.30pm. My plans were still on track.
By 5.30pm I was back in the land of panic. The traffic had slowed to a virtual standstill while my mind was racing ahead to conversations I would have to excuse myself from dinner so that I could find somewhere to publish my, as yet, unfinished post. That’s when I remembered what I’d read months ago in a book called ‘The Power of Now’ by Eckhart Tolle. In he talked about worry being a projection of an imagined future and that when we focus on asking ourselves how we are doing in this present moment, then worry ceases to exist.
“Realize deeply that the present moment is all you have. Make the NOW the primary focus of your life.”~ Eckhart Tolle
As I tried my hardest to focus on my present moment, I found I was able to calmly send a text to my Aunty explaining my predicament after which I sat back in my chair and looked out of the window and tried to take in as much of Bali as I could on my penultimate day on the island.
I got to a cafe near my Aunty’s house at about 6pm and as I waited for my laptop to start up I couldn’t help feel relieved as I recalculated that I still had time to finish my post and get back in time for dinner with the family. Everyone’s a winner I thought to myself, but no sooner than I did my precious Macbook decided to die a sudden, complete and untimely death on me.
Somehow, and I can’t quite explain how (although I imagine it was the two hours of practice I’d had on the bus earlier) I managed to hold onto my present moment and stop my mind racing ahead to broken promises, costly repair bills and lengthy explanations to you about why I’d failed my 30 day challenge on day 3!
Staying in the present allowed me to stay calm and think straight. I walked slowly and without stress to my Aunty’s house, calmly explained my situation, borrowed a scooter and went in search of an internet cafe with actual computers (something actually quite rare in this day and age). Being fully present stopped me from driving like an idiot and gave me a real sense that everything was okay. Not that it would be okay in the future but that in that very moment all was good. Within 45 minutes I had found a cafe and finished and published my post.
The universe, God or whoever is in charge of doling out life lessons, didn’t see fit to leave it there because today has seen even more of the same. This morning as I sat and waited for my Aunty to shower and get ready to take me to the Apple shop, rather than sit tapping my foot, staring at the clock and watching my morning slip away from me, I picked up a pad and a pen and started to hand write this very post (can you imagine?) and before I knew it I had written six pages and my Aunty was stood at the door saying “Come on, let’s go!”.
Staying in the present moment meant that when the lady in the Apple shop shook her head and said “sorry this is a hardware not a software problem, there is nothing we can do”, I managed to stop my mind flooding with doom and gloom. Honoring the present moment meant that when we found a second shop with a service centre, instead of pacing up and down as I waited impatiently to be served, I sat down and managed to look around me and see the funny side of my situation.
I couldn’t help laughing to myself as I looked at the other people around me. A boyfriend rubbing his girlfriend’s shoulder reassuringly as she listened intently to the technicians diagnosis on her laptop and another guy, somberly closing his laptop and respectfully placing it back inside its case after I can only imagine he’d been told “I’m sorry but there is nothing we can do”. It’s not that I was laughing at other people’s misfortune but more at how much the situation reminded me of a hospital waiting room and how starkly it seemed to me that we place far too much importance on ‘things’, but that is a whole other post.
As I left my precious laptop in the hands of trained doctors, sorry I mean technicians, I felt totally at ease with my/its fate. I knew that in a few hours I’d find out if anything could be done to save my computer, but until then rather than worry about it, I was going to enjoy a relaxed and delicious lunch while scribbling down the rest of this post on paper.
What I’ve learnt over the past 24 hours is how incredibly powerful staying consciously in the present moment can be. For me, it’s about acceptance of what is rather than hoping, wishing or fantasizing about more and it’s acceptance of the present situation rather than predicting, betting on or prophesizing less.
I also believe that when we feel the least inclined to be fully present is precisely when we need to do so the most. Sure, it’s easy to enjoy the present when you are lay, rocking in a hammock without a care in the world but when we can honour the present moment even when the present doesn’t feel all that great and when all of our instincts want to escape it, that’s when I believe we get to the good stuff.
As Tolle states in his brilliant book,
As soon as you honour the present moment, all unhappiness and struggle dissolve, and life begins to flow with joy and ease. When you act out of present-moment awareness, whatever you do becomes imbued with a sense of quality, care and love – even the most simple action. So do not be concerned with the fruit of your action – just give attention to the action itself. The fruit will come of its own accord.”
I have by no means mastered the art of being in the present moment but I do feel like over the past 24 hours, I’ve gained some insight into the power of now.
What opportunities for embracing the now have you had recently? Can you apply the principles I’ve mentioned to bigger and more important situations than a broken laptop or a late bus? I’d love to hear any tips you have for living more in the present moment. If you have enjoyed this post, please don’t forget to share it by hitting one of the buttons below.
Hi there, I'm Caroline. Welcome to Life is Limitless, my blog about personal development with a focus on facing fears and living a life without limits. Check out my about page to find out more and pop your email in the box below to subscribe for regular updates.
I thought that was a wonderful post and I feel inspired to try – even if just for today – to be present moment in this moment of my life that is rather difficult. I am getting ready to leave on holiday tomorrow and so am rather anxious and future oriented!
My first thoughts were – ‘Being the Now….oh what a good reminder…..I\ll do that in a minute when I’ve finished on the computer……OH!!!!!……do it NOW”
Kate x
kate wilson recently posted..Man on a Crane
Hi Kate, I’m so glad you felt inspired by my post. Your comment really made me smile, I hope you are having a fantastic holiday!
Great post Caz. It’s so hard to avoid catastrophing about the future when there always seem to be so many possibilities and options we are juggling.
I think you are doing an amazing job with your challenge, I’m really enjoying reading them. I’d love to hear more about the people you’ve met, the relationships you’ve created, and the things you’ve learnt and enjoyed from those interactions if you are looking for more ideas!
El x
Thanks Elles for your lovely comment! I love your idea about writing a post about the people I’ve met, I felt excited as soon as I read that. I think a post like that will be a long one, so need to find a day when I can focus on it, watch this space
xx
I LOVE this post!! We talk so much about living in the moment but this is the real life examples of what it can be to live in the moment. Living in the moment prevented you from panicking, gave you a brilliant post idea:), gave you time to write it and kept you calm during a stressful time. And allowed you to watch what others were doing in the computer store as their computers were being put to rest so to speak:)
I’ve had more opportunities to be present while traveling the last few months when I was working. How do I apply these moments back to ‘work’ life is what I’m trying to figure out next. When I am present like I am now, I am more in sync with the universe, able to get more done and be calmer too under similar situations. Actively choosing to be present is one way to go about living a more present life. This is the type of lessons that can help us get to enlightenment sooner Caroline – thanks so much for sharing this story!
Thanks Vishnu! “When I am present like I am now, I am more in sync with the universe, able to get more done and be calmer too under similar situations.” I love this because that’s exactly how I felt. The idea of being more in sync, more in our natural flow is exactly what I experienced the other day. We spend so much time trying to resist our present, then wonder why we’re are so frustrated with life. Thanks for your lovely comment and let me know how taking the present back to work goes
I stumbled upon your site through “disrupting the rabblement” and have to say I’ve thoroughly enjoyed what I’ve read so far. I especially like “The List” page! You are and eloquent writer.
You asked ” Can you apply the principles I’ve mentioned to bigger and more important situations than a broken laptop or a late bus?”
I find it interesting that you ask this questions because in my opinion you somewhat belittle your experience as not important. I’m not sure who said so I won’t put quotes around it but (Anyone can meditate on a mountain top … but few can meditate in the market). Meditation being an example of staying present or living in the now. Your story has power and resinates well with me because you were in a situation that most of us can get into. Everybody has a bad day! It’s in those moments of recognition that things aren’t going as planned where the power lies. For example If I can call out or name the feeling or discomfort that is happening when things are off, then I can align with it. Once I align with it I can re focus my energy. Like you mention in your post;
“As I tried my hardest to focus on my present moment, I found I was able to calmly send a text to my Aunty explaining my predicament after which I sat back in my chair and looked out of the window and tried to take in as much of Bali as I could on my penultimate day on the island.”
To sum it all up, living in now is important no matter what situation one finds themselves. The work for me at least is recognizing when I am not present.
Thanks for starting your blog and sharing your thoughts and lessons with us! You amongst others have inspired me. 30 day trials, addressing fears and even starting my own blog. So
thank you.
Hi Ben thanks so much for your comment. I think you make such a great point about the importance of being able to name or identify our discomfort or misalignment. How many of us either ignore or deny when things are off or at best try to push through the pain rather than accept, release and refocus. It’s been a while since I wrote this post so receiving such a thoughtful comment has brought this lesson back into focus for me – thank you! I can’t wait to see how your blog goes, if I can help in anyway, let me know, when I first started out, it was people like Niall who gave me feedback and support that made all the difference