So, I will write a little tonight about what it means to be in the moment. What I am writing I have learned from readings by Pema Chodron, The Dalai Lama, Jon Kabat-Zinn, and Ekhart Tolle to name a few. I am only telling you what I understand and what works for me. Most of us have minds that want to focus on the past or worry about the future. Some of us do so more than others but we all get caught up in our emotions in some form that keeps us in a mindless state. We think we are being very mindful because we are constantly thinking and brewing and stewing and planning. Actually this is all very mindless as we get so caught up in the what ifs, I should have, what’s going to happen, life will be better when, if they hadn’t said or done that, I am so angry with that person or with myself and so on. While we are doing so we miss the right now. Already this moment has passed. We will never get it back again. We have only a certain number of moments in our lives. We shouldn’t waste them and miss the opportunity to be tuned in to ourselves and everything around us right NOW. To do so we need to let our thoughts just come and go and not get stuck on them. Focusing on our breathing often helps. Eventually we can have no thoughts and just be aware and mindful of our breath of what is around us and of what is in us.
This a really simplified explanation of what I have read in many books and far from perfect. But I hope it makes some sense. I have also learned that when I stay present in the moment while I am teaching I become much more aware of the nuances and differences of each horse and rider. This helps me to understand that each lesson and each person and each horse are unique. When I go off that path for some reason, the lesson and training sessions are not as good and as connected. So, I want to try and stay more present while teaching and in the rest of my life.
I have always been a bit of seeker and a sensitive. Many times I have been told I am too sensitive. That used to really bother me but it doesn’t so much now. I really have started to embrace that sensitive side of me. Another part of being present is being non judging of ourselves and of others. Just learning to let go. Oh, what a hard task!I am getting better at it. I just really like to read and search and study different philosophies about life so that I can lead a more’meaningful life.
So, try and stop and listen to your breath and release your thoughts and just be.