Falling Upward
September 6, 2018
Three Self Care Tips
October 4, 2018
The past has flown away. The coming month and year do not exist.
Ours only is the present’s tiny point. – Mahmud Shabistari
Living in the present time is difficult for many of us. Our minds constantly fluctuate as our thoughts pull us back to what happened in days gone by and then push us forward into the future long before it arrives. We then live our lives in a space that has already happened, or we live in a time that has not yet arrived. In doing so, we miss the enjoyment, the challenges, the moments of today… our present!
Picture yourself moving your feet as you take two steps at a time. Try doing it backwards and then forwards. Can you do it? … No, you simply can’t do it. That’s just the way it is.
The same is true with living your life. You cannot truly live your life in the past or in the future. To live your life and live it well you need to be doing it in the present. Our bodies are here in the present. We, as people, are in the present.
So, what does today look like for you? What do you do to fully live in today and not let your mind wander into days gone by or days that have not yet arrived?
Here’s a list of wise, thoughtful and forward moving actions you can engage in today that will keep your present day so full that you will not have the time, nor the energy for your mind to wander off where it does not serve you well:
- Just for today I will live through this day only, and not tackle all my problems at once. I can do something for twelve hours that would appall me if I felt that I had to keep it up for a lifetime.
- Just for today I will be happy. This assumes to be true what Abraham Lincoln said, that “Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be.”
- Just for today I will adjust myself to what is, and not try to adjust everything to my own desires. I will take my “luck” as it comes and fit myself to it. If I cannot have what I like, I will like what I have.
- Just for today I will strengthen my mind. I will study. I will learn something useful. I will not be a mental loafer. I will read something that requires effort, thought and concentration.
- Just for today I will exercise my soul in three ways: I will do somebody a good turn, and not get found out; if anybody knows of it, it will not count. I will do at least two things I don’t want to do—just for exercise. I will not show anyone that my feelings are hurt; they may be hurt, but today I will not show it.
- Just for today I will be agreeable. I will look as well as I can, dress becomingly, keep my voice low, be courteous, criticize not one bit. I won’t find fault with anything, nor try to improve or regulate anybody but myself.
- Just for today I will have a program. I may not follow it exactly, but I will have it. I will save myself from two pests: hurry and indecision.
- Just for today I will have a quiet half hour all by myself and relax. During this half hour, sometime, I will try to get a better perspective of my life and myself and realize what life is and can be; I will find time to thank God.
- Just for today I will appreciate myself. I will not look to others for approval; I will provide it for myself. I will allow myself to recognize that I am doing the best I can. Today my best is good enough.
- Just for today I will love myself enough to release myself from the closet in which resentments and unforgiveness drag me down and keep me locked. I am building a better and more loving life today.
- Just for today I will love myself enough to give up a struggle over something that is out of my hands.
- Just for today I will be unafraid. Especially I will not be afraid to enjoy what is beautiful and to believe that, as I give to the world, so the world will give to me.,,, Excerpt from 12 Steps Programs
