Day 277: What does it mean to be "Here" in the moment?

 

You have probably heard this a few times in life “Live in the moment”. What does it mean to live in the moment? What does it mean to be here in the moment? And more importantly why is it so hard to actually be here in the moment?

The next time you are doing something like cleaning your house or some gardening pay attention to where you thoughts go. I was walking through the orchard one morning assessing the damage from a recent hail storm which unfortunately destroyed most of the figs. Anyway, as I was looking at the trees and trying to fix some of the damage and salvage what I could, I was constantly thinking. Thoughts like thinking about what I’m going to do next and what I’m going to make myself for lunch and other plans of the week etc.

So while I was busy picking damage fruit and trimming broken branches I was thinking about other things. I was not actually here in the moment, but in the future looking at plans and things I am going to do next – instead of being here and focusing on what I’m currently doing.

So being here in the moment means actually being here in the moment. It’s Not thinking about the future and constantly being in your head. While I was thinking about these things while walking in the orchard my awareness was diminished. When I realized what was doing and stopped the thoughts to simply be here in the moment I could hear the birds that I did not notice before.

Not being fully here in the moment we tend to miss things – it is in these moments that we tend to misplace keys, or forget about turning the oven off or any other event of forgetfulness. Simply because when you were putting down the keys you were in your head and not actually aware of your environment.

So bring yourself back to earth and be Here

Day 239 Making a Decision that needs to be made Immediately

 

I have always been horrible with decision making, from the smallest things like deciding what to eat to the big things in life. Over the years I have become better at the small things, but the big things still need direction.

Winter time on the farm means fire season. When there is a fire in the area people get called and those who are able to go help to put the fire out. In these situations time is very important so you need to really hurry and make sure you get to that fire as fast as possible, because the fire might burn down houses or trap and burn animals so the sooner you get to it the better. One night I got the call that a property was burning and they need help to put the fire out, unfortunately property was far away so this required a different approach.

Usually the fires were close so we jump on our tractor with the water cart attached and put out the fire. Eventually what we did was some guys went ahead with a car to get to the fire while another person drove the tractor. That way some people can already beat the fire while we wait fire the tractor.

Before I came to that decision on how to approach this point I hesitated, because It was a new situation I did not have previous experience on how to deal with point so I stressed out a bit trying to decide what I should do. And there is the mistake – allowing myself to panic and stress, because in that state I was not able to make any effective decisions or direct the situation effectively. So what will be the best way to face a tough time constraint decision?

The best thing you can do is to stop and breathe. Do not allow the stress and anxiety to direct you, simply stop and breathe. Also slow down, I found I was looking at everything at the same time instead of looking at it one point at a time. This will give you a “clear head” so that you can effectively look at the situation and direct it. Keep things practical – in these situations the answer is here. You may not know exactly what is going to happen, but what you can do is direct the moment the best way you are able to.

IF you require assistance with the big choices that do not need action immediately here is a cool self help guide how to best make a choice:

“We tend to get a little flustered and stressed out when we're faced with a big choice. There are usually a myriad of things to consider and usually all sorts of people trying to push you this way or that. All in all, it can be a pretty unpleasant experience when we don't know how to effectively dealing with the shit that seems to be flying at us from all directions.
So how the hell do you make a decision, especially when there seems to be so much stuff overwhelming you? First step:”

- See more at: http://activistsjourneytolife.blogspot.com/2014/09/day-599-which-way-should-i-go.html#sthash.pLorVal3.dpuf