Be Here Now

Three simple words – BE HERE NOW.  So simple, yet so powerful. 

With the deluge of information coming at us every minute of every day, it’s no wonder these three simple words get lost or forgotten.  I diligently attempt to manage my time with categorized, color-coded email, smartphone alerts to remind me where I need to be and when, and an ongoing search to find more time in a 24 hour day.  In spite of all my efforts, it’s not uncommon for family and friends to ask me, “Where are you?” while I’m sitting right there with them. 
  
For years I’ve heard phrases like, “be present”, “enjoy the moment”, and “there’s no time like the present”.  Intellectually I understood the concept; however, I totally missed the experience.  My perpetual short-term lists and long-term goals clouded by ability to connect in the moment.  It’s as if I was short changing events yet to come by taking my eye off the future – I would miss a detail, it wouldn’t come out just right, someone would be left out, and on and on.  I even piled on ‘expectations’ of those events by conjuring up the anticipated experience well in advance of those moments.  

During a recent seminar I was introduced to idea of ‘being here now’.  As we explored the benefits of staying in the moment, this simple yet power notion began to take hold.  I was missing a conscience effort to FOCUS on the NOW - to clear my mind of the lists and temporarily relieve myself of the future.  As I became more mindful, my experiences are richer; I feel more engaged and fulfilled. 

To me, being present is like breath is to a yoga practitioner.  It is essential to my life experiences and connection to loved ones.  It keeps me grounded in what’s important.  I find that my contributions to future are more enriched by my awareness of where I’ve been.  What a gift to build meaningful memories because I can ‘be here now’!
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Lori Myers
January 2016