Observe a young child involved in different activities- such as playing with friends, dancing, talking, playing in the sand, or just walking up and down. Observe to what level the child is involved in the activity.
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Let us take one example of a child busy playing with friends, As the child plays, do you think he is worried about his upcoming lunch or about whether he is going to be successful in life once he grows up? Is he sulking about the friend who hurt him one year ago or worrying about what the teacher thought of him when he did not know a spelling?
The answer to all of these is a big fat NO!
Most children have no problem living completely in the present moment. They have no difficulty immersing themselves in the present, with no regrets about the past or worries about the future. When they feel an emotion, they are equally at ease expressing what they feel at that very instant. Very rarely do they carry the burdens of each day on to the next.
It is almost like they come alive with fresh energy each day and live their life all over again. It is like they are given a blank slate to write the story of their life anew every single day.
Now compare this to the state most of us adults live in. As we wake up, we are worried about whether we will make it to work on time. At work, we think about how the child is doing at school or what we need to cook for dinner that night, After work, we are tense about the next day's meeting or about whether the boss would criticise our project report. Once home. we worry about the fact that the child did not eat his lunch and how he is ever going to be healthy if he does not eat.To top it all, we also tend to think of all the people who hurt us in the past and the possibilities of being hurt again in the future. We tend to live in the past or the future most if the time. And usually, it is some kind of a worry or an anxiety that consumes us. .
What would happen if we could make a conscious effort to catch ourselves when we are drifting into the past or the future and gently bring ourselves back to the present moment? What if we could just live in the moment and live it fully?
Life would feel fresh and vibrant to us too. Just as it does to young children.
Living in the moment does not mean not learning from a past experience nor does it mean not planning for the future. Those are practical aspects of life that must be dealt with on an ongoing basis. It only means keeping our mind in the present, thinking of what needs to be done today and doing that, enjoying what is on our plate at the moment and feeling gratitude for the same. This shift in attitude would make our lives more joyful and meaningful. All we ever have to think about is only what this moment presents. And then we begin to enjoy life so much more just as children do!
Think about it. No matter how much you reflect on the past and all its glories or problems, it is never going to come back. And the future? Well, we are not there yet. And there is no way to know for sure about how life will turn out to be in the future. No amount of worrying is going to change a thing. So, it makes more sense to be optimistic about the future and think about it only when really necessary for practical purposes.
What about this moment? Do you have this moment? Are you alive? If you are reading this, you most certainly are! So, seize the moment and make the most of it! The past is gone forever. The future will take care of itself. Drop all worries and anxieties and live this minute.
Enjoy this moment!
Live like the child.....
tru..absolutely...we r under a wrong notion that children does'nt have concentration..its us who fail to provide them wid interestin stuffs dat attracts their attention n concentration...so d bottomline is..wat we generally find in children due to our lack of understandin should'nt be confused wid d truth..
ReplyDeleteWell said Debashree...Especially the last sentence about the clash between our lack of understanding and the truth is really significant.
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