Live For Today?
Posted on 3rd November 2011 by Andrew Thomas
At my lowest ebb I spent a large part of each day in a state of anxiety, worrying and mentally running film shows in my head as to how future situations would unfold. As an example, If I had a dental appointment then the first thing I would think about when I woke up in the morning would be how I was going to cope. I would visualise driving there and imagine myself having a panic attack - what would I do? When I was brushing my teeth I would be visualising myself sitting 'trapped' in the dentist's chair - what if I couldn't handle it? What if I was half way through a filling and wanted to get out? When I was eating my breakfast I would be deep in thought, mulling over the forth-coming event.
At the end of each day, I had spent most of it preoccupied with thoughts of events that might be coming. The outcome of all this mental activity was that I had lost something valuable, something precious that had gone forever. Today!
"My life has been full of terrible misfortunes most of which never happened."
-- Michel de Montaigne
This is a waste because, although you may not feel it, there are many things to feel really good about each day. So the million dollar question is how do you start living for today and stop living in the fearful imaginary future that will probably never happen?
The secret is to stop all the thinking and analysing. Dont live for today but live for the second. Turn off that voice and that film show in your head and experience the real world that is in front of your eyes, that you can touch, feel, smell and hear. Stop your internal commentry on things, just experience the moment in peace and quiet.
The present moment - this instant - is all you ever have. The past and the future are in your imagination; if you live there then you are living your life in a dream - you might as well be asleep. So make the present instant the focus of your attention.
So enjoy yourself today because it is not coming back.
Best wishes
Andrew Thomas
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