As long as you don’t look ahead in the workbook, you can make it through today’s lesson.
-- Cynthia Copeland Lewis, “Really Important Stuff My Kids Have Taught Me”

Way down the road looks so far away, especially if you have 6 more laps to go before you make a mile or a year to go before you hit your ideal weight. Down the road is far away if you’ve got to make $3,756 more dollars until you get to $5,000. Down the road is especially far if it’s Wednesday, pay day isn’t until Friday, and you have a negative $500 in your account. Later is a long way off and tomorrow just won’t come quick enough.

All the more reason to enjoy today, or pay attention to this very moment. Instead of getting caught up in what will or won’t happen tomorrow, think of what’s happening right now.

Sure, right now your money’s slim to none and your body is aching as you push toward that mile. But just think – right now, at this very moment, you’re breathing which means you’re alive. Being alive right now means that you can look around and take in all that you see, hear, and feel. And what do you see right now? Possibly you see others of God’s babies trying as you are to make it around that track. My, that lady’s got strong calves. Possibly you hear the birds who’ve joined you for this morning’s stroll singing and cooing their favorite tune. Hmmm, which bird is making that chirp – a blue jay, that sparrow, or is that the call of a morning dove? Maybe you feel the tightening of your hamstrings with each pace or the thinning and stretching of your ab fat with each sway of your hips. Suck in your stomach, bend your knees deeper, tighten your butt. Ahhh. Guess what! Your focus has changed! You’re no longer thinking about the stretch left ahead. As a matter of fact, you’re on the last lap with inches to go. All because you stayed in the moment and paid attention to the now.

Paying attention to the now simply means you’re not overlooking a single thing that’s going on around you, like eating a meal and actually tasting it or driving to work and really seeing all the things on the way. You’re taking in every thing no matter how big or small, savoring its quintessence until you can’t get any more from it, and you’re doing it with every fiber and sensation of your being. Your mind is right there in it, you’re fully present and not somewhere else like on later or tomorrow.

Now, that’s not to say you shouldn’t plan for tomorrow or be prepared for what could come later. By all means, plan because if you’re fortunate enough to see tomorrow, you’ve got to have something in it. But don’t be stumped by tomorrow or even wish that tomorrow would hurry up and get here. Don’t rush your life, you’ve got too much to do and enjoy in this moment.

In the moment – which, if you think about it, it’s the only time you really have – close your eyes, sit quietly, and breathe. Feel the air flowing through your lungs and in and out of your body. Be aware of and acknowledge the thoughts that come into your head. If those thoughts are about tomorrow, or even yesterday, they aren’t about the hum of this moment and, if you’re intentionally trying to focus on the moment, you should immediately put them out of your head. And, it’s not easy to live in or focus on the moment; we are a nation of people too accustomed to multitasking and impatience for the practice of mindfulness to be a simple and basic habit. But with practice, you can do so and ultimately eliminate some of the anxiety and stress that constantly bombard your life.

Tomorrow is important and later on will come. However, investing in right now with your whole self is even more important in order that there be a later on and tomorrow. Do today, right now, and trust that tomorrow will take care of itself.

Sadiqqa © 2008