Staying present. Mindfulness. Living consciously.
Whatever you call the concept, here’s what I’m going to tell you about it…
First, Dictionary.com defines mindfulness as, “The state or quality of being mindful or aware of something.”
It can be hard as heck to do. Especially for a worry-prone control freak who wants always to be prepared
and never caught off guard.
Here’s the thing… Being present and worrying cannot co-exist.
When you worry about what’s going to happen next, you aren’t present in what’s happening now. You miss out on the good stuff right in front of you.
Worrying is a great way to senselessly and needlessly harm your health. When you worry, you make your body pay the consequences for something that hasn’t happened yet. Your body reacts as if what you’re worrying about is happening now. If the thing or situation doesn’t ever happen, you’ve called your body into action and made it suffer for nothing. If the thing or situation does actually happen, your body will pay the consequences TWICE – when you were in the state of worrying and again when it happened, The state of worrying just made things worse for you. It didn’t prepare you for diddly squat. That whole preparedness defense, is just a lie you tell yourself.
What you are feeling, thinking, and doing are all priming the pump for what is to come. What lies ahead for any of us is not some random, arbitrary occurrence, nor is it predetermined by a fate in which we have no control.
What will happen in our future is a direct result of what we are calling in for ourselves for whatever reason.
We are not on some universe-controlled carnival ride being tossed around only to come to a stop somewhere and then having to gather our wits back and walk off into a new direction. That’s just not how life works.
We are creating our future by what we are feeling, thinking, and doing right now. Mindfulness insures that we’re intentionally ordering up the future we want. This fact is why it is so important that we stay present and in control over how we are thinking and feeling right now.
One, so we can keep those thoughts and feelings positive and directed where we want them. And two, so we can actually feel deep in our body, and down to our toes, the morsels of joy and comfort that we are experiencing right now.
If we won’t take the time to enjoy what we have, there’s no reason for the universe to serve up increase because we aren’t taking in and using what is already available to us.
It all makes sense when you think about it. If we’re not using what we have, then getting more would be like clutter – something no one needs more of.
As a lifelong chronic worrier (somewhat in remission at the moment), I do have to take special care to keep myself grounded well with my feet firmly on the ground and my head in the space I need it to be in rather than floating off finding new concerns to feel anxious over.
Mindfulness is the best cure for anxiety.
You cannot be mindful of the fact that in this moment you are perfectly fine AND feel anxiety that you’re not perfectly fine in this moment. See how that works?
Using my beloved essential oils for grounding (and facilitating mindfulness) is my most frequent go-to (any of the woods work well for this, and I can give you additional options if you’d like… just reach out).
Other ways I keep myself grounded are sea salt baths. Walking barefoot on the grass. Taking a bike ride or hike. And no, I don’t care a bit about the germs or any other scary things that some folks would like to worry about. I trust outside. I trust nature. I grew up letting nature take care of me and showing me the way to great wellness, curiosity, wonder, joy, and appreciation and it’s never let me down.
The bottom line is… for better todays AND great, you-inspired tomorrows, you have to be sure that you’re paying attention to all that you have right now and that is this moment – the present. Find every little morsel you can love about right now — that is how your practice effective mindfulness.