We hear it all the time. Live in the now! The past is behind us and the future is yet to come! Live in the now!! Sounds good, but what does that really mean?
To really live in the now means to trust that you will manifest what you need when you need it. Stop obsessing and planning the future. Stop complaining about the rain and enjoy the moment. It took me years to truly understand what that means. Blame it on my protestant upbringing and work ethic. I was taught to suck it up, do whatever needs to be done, regardless of how unpleasant it may be, so that I could enjoy my life at some point in the future.
Do you see the insanity of that reasoning? Suffer now so that at some point in the future that may never come you will be happy. How many of us do that?? We don’t trust ourselves to manifest what we need so we toil for years at a job or task that is unpleasant simply because that is what is expected. Truth is, your future happiness is but an illusion in that paradigm. The only time you can be happy is now.
I played that game for years. Unfortunately, even after I “achieved” the success I toiled for, happiness never came. So, I doubled down, nose to the grindstone, yet happiness was always elusive. However, when others would seek my advice on jobs or careers, I would tell them to pick only that which made them happy, that which made their heart sing! It was obvious to me that if one did what made them happy, they would be the best at their chosen job and the money would come. They would by definition be living in the now, doing what made them happy. Pity I didn’t follow my own advice until years later.
To live in the now means to live every moment doing what makes you happy. I mean this quite literally. Every moment. When you find yourself doing anything that does not support your happiness, stop and change it immediately. You may only change your attitude, but you owe it to yourself to change immediately. Change as often as needed to support your personal happiness.
It is nonsense to suggest that doing things that are unpleasant is the way to protect your health, safety and happiness. When you are happy, both the past and the future become irrelevant. Think about that last statement for a moment. When you are happy, drama disappears. You are firmly connected with your True Self and existing as you are meant to exist.
To this day I have a childhood memory of lying outside on my back on a crisp fall day looking up at a beautiful blue sky. I was warm in my corduroy coat and mittens, the leaves rustled as I moved my head and I felt complete. I did not understand why at the time, but I was happy. I had connected to my True Self and nothing was lacking. It was a perfect moment of clarity and I was lost in the now. Happiness resides in the now.
Find happiness and you will find the now.
Now we are doing yoga…
Namaste
Blair is the co-owner of Yoga Daily in Mt. Pleasant, SC. [https://yogadailymountpleasant.com] He is a certified yoga instructor, recovering lawyer and a spiritual student. The content of this blog is what Blair considers to be universal truths that span all dogma and religion and it is offered to you in Love and Light. Check out Yoga Dude [https://yogadailymountpleasant.com/the-yoga-dude/] for additional blog entries. You can contact Blair at blair@yogadailymountpleasant.com. Yoga is but one path to the knowing that we are all One. Please take what resonates with you and leave the rest without judgment or offense.