Alphabet Soup - Letter "N"

Rather than write a little bit about a whole list of words for this letter, I want to focus on just one:

NOW - One of my goals recently has been to learn to live more consistently in the present moment. It's so easy to obsess over the past, replaying things that are done and gone, continually second guessing myself. If only I had... If only I had not... Regrets for what has come before have their purpose if taken in small doses. They can instruct by showing us how to take a different path next time. But getting stuck in continual replays of old business is counterproductive.

The other trap is to get stuck longing for what is yet to come forfeiting the present by constantly putting off today's chance for happiness with "...when I get done with this project" or "when the kids are older" or "after I graduate" or "when I have time" as if somewhere in the future there would be some sort of magical different reality. OR the flip side is worrying about the future, all the what ifs that MIGHT happen, that COULD happen...most of which never will, yet I have put myself through all the angst worrying about it as if it already had.

Whether it is being overly focused on the past, or tangled up in the future, I want that pattern of time warp focus to end. I want to live in the present moment. I want to live in the NOW.

It makes sense to pay attention to, remember, and learn from the past. But I need to acknowledge it is past. It makes sense to think about and plan for the future. But ultimately, the future is unknown. I can only truly experience THIS moment.

One of my favorite reminders of this important lesson is the story The Precious Present by Spencer Johnson.

I choose to be awake and present NOW.