Living Fully in This Moment

Author : Graham Hunt
What would it mean if this moment, right now, was all you had?Firstly, living fully in this moment means the past is of no concern….
What has happened in the past has happened.
We can't go back and undo the things we did, nor do the thing we wish we had, in the past. We can only do, in this moment, whatever we can to deal with
those things from the past.So, living fully in this moment would mean no blame, and no justification.Much of this moment is taken up with what took place
in the past. By the time we get around to living in this moment it has
already gone. So the situation gets worse, because we have to deal
with the things we didn't do in that particular moment because we were so
tied up with the past that we let that particular moment go, unfulfilled.
And once it is gone, you cannot get it back.
Time is fleeting, there now, but soon gone, to make way for the next moment.When I was a school boy, I looked forward to starting a new work book…I could start fresh, without the reminder of all the mistakes I had made. A new workbook meant a fresh start, no mistakes, no history. Of course, that didn't last long….but each
moment is like a new work book, a fresh start, filled
with new possibilities and limited only by how much of the
past we drag into it.When we realise blaming only takes up valuable time better spent on other things, and we let it go, we are better able to deal with the consequences of past actions.
Surely, that's a better use of this moment, or any moment.Second, living every moment fully, we wouldn't need to justify ourselves.As with blaming, which comes from someone else, there's little value in justifying our past actions, or lack of them. What's done is done. It's over, that moment in time will never happen again.The past is only significant when it affects our ability to live fully in this moment, either positively or a negatively.All the things that happened to us and the ways we responded to those events make us who we are today. There may be things from our past
affecting how we function now. But to continue to go over and over
them is not going to change them.
But we can change the outcomes of those past events so their effect on the
present is minimised, or maximised, depending whether they were
helpful or not. So make amends (where appropriate) and move
on.Living in this moment also means the future is of no worry. Worrying about what
may or may not happen in the future limits your enjoyment of the
present.How many times have you worried about what may happen
in the future, only to find the realisation didn't match the
anticipation. That's because we almost always develop worst
case scenarios, anticipating everything that can go wrong.
Murphy's Law holds sway over our lives.Murphy's Law, simply put is "Whatever can go wrong, will" And a major
reason for that belief is we do not trust ourselves or others
to have our best interests at heart. Nor do we believe the universe,
as a whole is for us, rather than against us.How many times have you heard someone say, or maybe even
said yourself "That'd be right" or "Just as I thought" or "silly me,
to expect that it would be any different" or something similar.Call me naïve, but I believe people's preferred approach towards others is one of care and concern. If a person displays a different attitude there is every likelihood
that person has had some bad experiences that caused them
to change.So, living fully in this moment means no expectations of what will
happen in the future, but simply to take everything in your stride as it
comes along.Do that and you will surprise yourself with your ability to cope, because your moments are not filled with the negative aspects of fear and disappointment, but are open enough for you to do what needs to be done, whenever it needs to be done.No expectations means you can accept whatever is happening for you, to you , in this particular moment . How often have you heard someone say, "Oh that event was not as good as I expected it to be"….so rather than appreciating the good parts of
their experience, they focus on how it did not live up to the ideal
situation they constructed in their head.That does not mean we accept mediocrity. But how often do we set
ourselves up for disappointment simply because we set our expectations too high? So enjoy this moment, wring every last bit of essence out before moving on. .
After all, it is your prize for winning the egg and sperm race.
Thanks for the opportunity to share some of your moments. I trust you consider them a worthwhile use of your moments.Graham Hunt is the founder and Thinker-in-Residence of The Ultimate Success Center, an organisation dedicated to the resourcing of an environment where people who so desire can discover and fulfil their potential. One of the ways Graham is doing that is through his website at www.the-ultimate-success-site.com/ Drop by sometime.
Keyword : living in the moment, living in the now.