Really Be Here Now

Be present now—

Where are you right now? Are you here, in your chair, reading this? Or is your mind racing elsewhere – to your unread e-mail, or what to make for dinner? Are you still flashing back to your tuning comment your boss made hours ago, continuing conversations with people who are not even in the room?

Don’t laugh, but time travel is a real – we spent a lot of time in the past and the future. All day, we plan, fantasize, remember and regret, and missed the here and now. There’s a toll for all the psychic torturing – lack of focus, lost energy and hidden stress.

Do some simple techniques to learn to be in the present. When you savor the moment –

1. You probably find your enjoying life more

2. You’ll be less stressed and more productive

3. You’ll enjoy food more even as you eat less

4. The likely some more open and generous

5. He’ll appreciate the people around you more

6. You become a better listener and Observer

7. You’ll find a better communication and connection in your relationships

Who could argue with all that?

Learning to be present, or mindful is a lifelong pursuit. Meditation is all important to that can lead to the skill. There are things that you can do today to help. Many of the techniques involve breathing – focus on it, it’s almost guaranteed to bring you back to the moment requires no special tools or training, so it’s a perfect way to begin.

Try to adopt is one of these ideas, even once a day – whichever one seems easiest. Once you experience being in the present, you can find you want to try other techniques to extend the feeling. Here are a few examples –

1. When the phone rings, don’t jump up to answer it – take a good deep breath before you say hello.

2. Program your computer a watch to beep once an hour. — When you hear the beat, stop and take five deep breaths.

3. Before getting out of bed, take five minutes to do a mental scan of your body-. How does everything feel?

4. Before rising in the morning, utilize your Tabernacle choir–. Remember all the positives of your life. Remember, rehearse, and review all the good things and grace that has been given you.

5. Practice doing just one thing at a time—stop multitasking, it will poison your soul and mind…if you’re eating don’t watch TV or read. If you’re walking… don’t talk to focus on your single activity.

6. As you eat, take small bites into each one 30 times—you will discover you enjoy your food more, and it’s healthier to.

7. Stop look and listen—really smell the flowers, listen to people, focus your attention, and be in the process of the moment. You will be more peaceful, focused, loving, present, and engaged as well as engaging!

Once you start developing the ability to be present at certain times of the day, defined in a valuable skill to call on to defuse stress at any time. As with learning a support or musical instrument, the more you practice, the more adept and you’ll be calm. Before you know it, you’ll be nowhere else but here… are you here right now?

7 STEPS TO LEAVE A PARENTAL LEGACY

What will they say about you when you are gone?

Good? Bad? Nothing? Angry? Sad? Fun? In the moment? Disengaged?…What will it be?

How about you making that decision now and be intentional about how you are living/parenting?

YOU can decide how you will be, react, respond, live, speak think, and act.

This will certainly gage how others (esp. family) will remember you when you pass on.

Here are some tools that my father Bob used to leave his legacy and heritage…

1. Time… Togetherness, investment in quality relationships with intentional, time spent together.
2. Communication…Talking, telling stories, laughing, and sharing life together, while communicating.
3. Love for and Appreciation of Beauty… Noticing life intentionally: the flowers, people, gardens, plants ,trees,birds, animals, and the natural world.
4. Love for People… Appreciation and thankfulness for those in our lives. Expressions of love through, hugs, focused attention, eye contact encouragement, and appropriate touch.
5. Love for God… Actively having a love affair with our Creator, based in a worshipful heart disposition.  Living in intentional expression in: church community, the Fellowship, the study of truth, prayer, using our gifts, and living a life of love for God and people.
6. Having fun!… Being present, in the moment and spontaneous. Making time for what’s really important. Being able to stop and smell the flowers, taste the ice cream, and generally enjoy the simple things. “The best things in life are not things at all.”
7. Being a Lifelong Learner… Possessing a hunger and thirst for truth, knowledge, wisdom, understanding, and a compelling education. Truly being a student of life, with the intent of discovering your strengths and gifts and making application to make your world a better place.

You could put all of my father’s worldly possessions in his Chevy celebrity, yet he left us incredible riches. He taught and modeled a love for life, God, and people that will transmit for generations. He was not a flashy man, yet his life was compelling, and his heritage rich with meaning.

So what will it be for you?…Who are you?
What do you want to leave behind?

You are leaving something now, what is it?

What do you want to see more of?

What you see now that you’d like to make go away?

The answers to the above will define your heritage and legacy for years and generations to come…