Are You Present In The Present
Or Just dozing off?
In school when the teacher would call my name while taking attendance, I would say ‘present sir’. What I didn’t know at that time was that I was indeed present —both physically and mentally — in those moments. This is probably why I still have vivid memories of some of that time. About a year ago, I used to spend most of my time inside of my head, jumping from one thought to another. Like I was on a treadmill without an off switch.
I don’t recall exactly when did I stop living in the present and start living in a state of mental absence, but I think it was around the time I finished college. Reality hit me so hard that I began to find ways to escape it instead of accepting it. At that time, I used to think that accepting reality would mean giving up on my dreams.
As a result, I took shelter in the pleasant, carefree past where I could relive the euphoric moments again and again. And when the euphoria of those moments began to fade, I started imagining a possible future based on my past. But like everything else, there is an expiry date of fooling oneself as well.
Soon, my past stopped going hand in hand with my imaginary future. My one thought began to contradict others, causing internal conflict. Which resulted in me being angry, unhappy and frustrated all the time. So, I resorted to reading self-help books and videos which helped me remarkably. One of the books which helped me a lot is called ‘The Power of Now’ by Eckhart Tolle.
What is the Present?
Believe it or not, most people have only a vague idea about the present. Hence, defining the present really puts things into perspective. The present is the unit of time that is timeless. Does that make any sense to you? See, when you are truly present, the past and the future do not exist for you. There is a complete and utter absence of time.
What does it mean to live in the Present?
Contrary to popular belief, living in the present does not mean living aimlessly without having any regard for one's future. It simply means to focus on what you are doing now. For example: if you are sitting in a café to have a cup of coffee, you should be focusing on how the coffee tastes, what colour it has, or the tiny bubbles formed around the cup. You could also observe the people in the café or the objects that are placed around you.
Don’t think about your work or what you are going to do next. Just be there in that moment completely. And the moment you achieve complete presence, you will feel as if things around you suddenly become more vibrant in colour and texture. You will feel lightheaded as if some storm, that has been going on for a long time, has calmed down. This is how it feels like to be truly in the present. Many people have already experienced this, though not for long.
What about the future?
Making plans for your future(or what I’d like to call the ‘upcoming present’) does not harm you in any way. On the contrary, this is necessary to have your next step ready. Otherwise, how will you achieve your goals? However, spending too much time doing that would not be good for you either. You should see your plan as a ladder to your goal: one step at a time.
What is the problem?
Our mind is the most powerful tool in the world. It has created wonders and miracles as well as weapons of massive destruction. The problem is, even after all of this, we are not taught how to use our minds, in school. You are wandering around possessing a tool that has the capability to do wonders, but you have no idea how to use it! how unfortunate is that!
The major mistake that we make is identifying ourselves with our minds. Always remember that you are not your mind. Mind is just a tool to serve you, hence you are the master of it, not the other way around. Once you start to treat your mind as your servant, it becomes easy to control.
I hope that the information that I’ve just shared with you, people, will help you and impact your life the way it did mine. If it does, let me know. I’ll see you soon.
