“The reason people find it so hard to be happy is that they always see the past better than it was, the present worse than it is, and the future less resolved than it will be.” ~ Marcel Pagnol
This quote resonates for me because I see how much my mind has a hard time staying in the here and now. I sometimes catch myself worrying about a current situation and can even spin that out into the future, seeing in my mind’s eye a disastrous outcome. And when my mind can see that, my body responds with matching feelings of anxiety. My heart races, my stomach clenches, and I feel miserable.
Isn’t that ridiculous? Not only is it a waste of time, because I am usually tuned out to what is really going on around me, but it puts me in a physical state that is the least conducive to seeing solutions. Whenever we feel adrenalin in our systems, the amygdala in our brain has taken over and that’s our most primitive self.
So I am working on my practice of living in the moment. I’m not sure if I can change my initial reaction but I am getting really good at recognizing that I am doing it and bringing myself back to the here and now. Not only is this practice making me calmer overall, but it is making me happier too. Because usually when I am present, things are pretty darn good in my world.
Notice what you think about during the day and when you are remembering the past, worrying about the future, or truly present in the current moment. Whenever you find that you are not here, come back.