The Importance of Living a Present Life

Lynn Morgan Carpenter: So what does it mean to live a present life? This is the focus for this week. We're going to talk about how to drop in and be present in our everyday lives because there is a direct correlation to the state of our well-being and how present we are in our daily lives. So what will often happen when we're not present? So when we are not present, are we living lives where we're not present? Typically, one of two things is happening. Number one, we could be stuck over here in this camp of yesterday. So this is of the past. So if we're stuck n the past and thinking of past occurrences, we are not able to be present. And also what's true is if we're living in the camp of tomorrow, so this is of the future, and especially if we are worrying about the future and what's going to take place, we in that state, creates anxiety and we, of course, are not in the present moment.

So the goal here is any opportunities where we feel ourselves, either fixating on the past or worrying about the future, is to remind ourselves, oh, I'm not being present right now. And the goal is for me to drop into this present moment in time. The reason why this is also beneficial is because it has a direct effect on your overall well-being. So this has a direct effect on how you experience life on a daily basis. And here's the thing, I think sometimes, you know, we'll, we'll live in the past because by thinking about it. We kind of feel like maybe we could do things different in the future and we'll control. Or we live in the future and we have anxiety over that. And the more we think and we worry, we feel like well, we can manage and we can control. A lot of this is connected to some control things.

So just be aware of that. But truly it's robbing us from the beauty that our life has to offer us right here, right now in the present moment because there's so many beautiful moments that are happening around us. And if we're not allowing ourselves to live in the present of them, we are robbing ourselves from the experience. So this is why it's important. It's important and it's a practice. It's something that, um, I've been working on and I still have more work to do. It is absolutely a practice. But it is absolutely beneficial on our overall sense of wellbeing and how we feel and navigate in this life. I wanna give you four tips on how you can drop into the present moment and be more present in your daily life. So tip number one is to focus on one thing. So not multitasking, but just focusing.

So if you're cooking dinner, you're just cooking dinner. If you're folding laundry, you're just folding laundry. If you’re talking on the phone, you're just talking on the phone. If you're working on a work project, you're just working on the work project, not, you know, checking every email that comes in while you're working on the project or every social media notification. I mean, all of that is very distracting and it decreases productivity, but also it creates a stir of anxious energy within. So just focus on one thing and you're going to notice that you'll start to have more of this ease and this calm within. Number two is to be grateful, to be grateful for what you have right now. And the reason why this is so important is that if you are in this place of feeling, dis-ease, feeling, um, not connected and sorrowful, sorrowful or whatever the feeling might be, it could be where you're wishing for something to be different in your life.

And whenever we are wishing for things to be different and we're caught up in that type of thinking, we are not present at all. So allowing yourself in those moments to say, okay, let me, let me drop in presently and let me right now list what am I grateful for that I have right now in my life. And then tip number three is to show acceptance. So by showing acceptance of what is right here right now allows you to drop into the present moment. If I can accept what is right now, if I can accept where my life is, if I can accept what's taking place right now, if I can drop in, accept what this is, I'm not gonna be fixated on past and I'm not gonna be fixated on the future, but I'm accepting this moment in time and what's taking place. And then the final point, the fourth, is to increase your awareness on your thoughts and your feelings. So when you allow yourself to become more in tune and aware of what's going on in your mind, in your soul, in your body, this drops you into the current moment in time. Oh, I'm feeling some dis-ease, I'm feeling some sadness. Let me investigate. What is that? And is there something in my life that's calling for healing? Is there something in my life that's calling for, um, a change or some attention? So that is power in that. 

And then the other is true is like, ah, I feel really light and bright right now. I'm feeling really great. I have a surge of energy. Well, what is it that you're doing? What's taking place? What's in your environment, your surroundings? And then by knowing that, you can start to invite more of that, like, wow, when I do this or when I'm around these people, I feel great. So then, you know, I want to nurture this more in my life. I want to invite more of this into my life. So there's such a beauty and a benefit of having that awareness of what's taking place right here and now inside your body with your thoughts and your feelings, your emotions. And that is allowing you to be in the present moment of what is true for you right there, right, right in that moment. So this week, this is what we're gonna focus on inviting in to be more present in our everyday lives. And we'll do this together because together we are better. And, and I hope to be able to hear just how this is going for you and how your week flows and what you feel internally as you work more on becoming more and more present in your daily life.