Nowadays me here alot about being mindful and living in the present and how it can make all the difference and have you feeling happy and joyful. The present creates the furture, right? Well I disagree and here’s why.
I naturally live in the present, live in the moment, take in the pleasures of each experience, but one day last week I wondered how well this was serving me. I questioned if this ‘living in the present’ lark is all its cracked up to be. Let me share a personal story to demonstrate why this arised.
So last Wednesday I was cooking dinner, Elodie was close to my feet playing with a spoon and a bowl and the boys were running around the kitchen playing ‘catch you’! And I was at the stove making dinner, then I think my husband bought lemons over the weekend and he mentioned he would love a lemon meringue pie. So I decide in that present moment to make him one right there and then. It turned out beautiful, see proof of the pudding with enclosed pic. He was delighted but it created extra work for me and had me doing three things at once, doing dinner, keeping an eye on the kids and making a meringue pie from scratch, which resulted in extra pots, bowls and baking appliances to wash up.
And more importantly, my husband didn’t get to indulge in all of the pie I made. Why? Because lemon meringue pie needs to be ideally eaten within two days. So the next day I say to my ‘mon amour’, “take the pie with you to work”, which of course was great for his colleagues but I made it for him. And this realisation got me to look at my present moment behaviour and if it really serves me well and maybe you too if you function like this too.
If I had not been in the present moment I could have had an easier evening and instead thought, “I will make it on Friday”, then PA could have enjoyed it Friday night and Saturday with his morning coffee and afternoon tea and relish in its delights himself. After all I made it for him as its one of his favourites.
On top of that it would have meant that I would have had more time to do it on Friday during the day as two of my three kids would be in creche and school. And so I began to realise the consequence of me living in the present may not be all its cracked up to be.
I checked in with my guides and asked what colour represents ‘being present’ and I was given a fresh green and then I checked in with what colour could result in counteracting this present moment way of being and have me living in a more constructive way. Coming from a place where I consider the outcome of these ‘present moment’ thoughts and reality and I got blue.Being present needs to be balanced, and so these two colours can place me in harmony with being in the hear and now, in a more productive and constructive way.
The next revelation was I actually realised that I have only one blue top in my wardrobe so a sign of the need to balance the downside of living in the moment. So I plan to indulge in a few blue pieces to help me uplevel this being present in a more productive manner. What’s your take on this present moment living? Can you relate to my experience? Are you willing to experiment and try embracing the green and blue theme and see if it makes a difference? Let me know how those colours work for you if you decide to work with them. Leave a comment below. I would love to hear your take on this. Love Marcia x
Great post Marc! I also got lost in the moment with a lemon drizzle cake today(Don’s fav) while all around me jobs waited. Could it be me are avoiding the future by stalling in the present?! x
Now that is a very interesting revelation Marie Therese. Claudia another colour follower on Facebook made a very good comment. “I don’t think living in the present necessarily means to do everything right now or act immediately upon an impulse. To me, being fully present in that situation would have meant to notice my idea to make him this cake, but also being aware of all the other circumstances (like your kids, the extra work, the fact that he wouldn’t have the time to eat it…) and then consciously decide if it is indeed the right moment to make it. You can postpone something to the future and still live the present (actually making the cake could have distracted you from enjoying the present with your kids). Being present is about awareness about all your sensations, feelings, impulses. Acting upon them can but doesnt have to be part of it. Does that make sense?”
Hi Marcia, as one of the colleagues I really have to admit that for I it was a great idea to bake the cake! It was delicious!!! Thank you.
Anyhow I have always loved green and blue 🙂
mm
Great post Marc! I also got lost in the moment with a lemon drizzle cake today(Don’s fav) while all around me jobs waited. Could it be me are avoiding the future by stalling in the present?! x
Now that is a very interesting revelation Marie Therese. Claudia another colour follower on Facebook made a very good comment. “I don’t think living in the present necessarily means to do everything right now or act immediately upon an impulse. To me, being fully present in that situation would have meant to notice my idea to make him this cake, but also being aware of all the other circumstances (like your kids, the extra work, the fact that he wouldn’t have the time to eat it…) and then consciously decide if it is indeed the right moment to make it. You can postpone something to the future and still live the present (actually making the cake could have distracted you from enjoying the present with your kids). Being present is about awareness about all your sensations, feelings, impulses. Acting upon them can but doesnt have to be part of it. Does that make sense?”
Hi Marcia, as one of the colleagues I really have to admit that for I it was a great idea to bake the cake! It was delicious!!! Thank you.
Anyhow I have always loved green and blue 🙂
mm
Glad to hear you enjoyed, so in the end the joy and love was spread to you too.:) LOL xx
In Buddhism staying in the moment is important and about peace and the happiness that follow.