Hello friends, and welcome to my thirty-first blog.

I have been told and, read again and again that our time is our most precious asset and I have always agreed, until now. What if your being present, fully present at any moment in time, is just as important?

What exactly is this “being present” story? Simply put, being present means fully enjoying the moment that you are in. It means being totally aware of what is going on around you and being there in mind and body. Your mind is in the now and the now is where your body is.

This all sounds quite hectic. I need to imagine that whatever I am doing and wherever I am, I am completely and utterly focused in that exact moment, without distraction and diversion. Flip, not easy, at all.

So, I decided to apply this “being fully present” narrative to my life in order for me to better understand it. When I started treating Karen’s patients, I was quite chilled. I have done a number of locums for her and was fairly familiar with the treatment regime of her patients. However, when I realized that this was to be my practice and that this was my future, it was a whole different ball game. I needed to learn about the politics and routine of the different villages, and the importance of establishing relationships with, carers, nursing staff and relatives. This required focus, attention, and concentration. I had to be fully present and centred in order to give the best possible treatment to my patients, whilst being cognisant of the importance of all the other aspects of this new work. In retrospect, what I needed to do was to be fully present nearly all of the time. This then enhanced my treatment regime, my relationship with my patients, and it enabled me to stop thinking of the stress, worries and sadness that I have been experiencing. This concentration is ongoing. What a win. Owning these moments so completely is also very empowering and I honestly believe that I am saving time by focusing fully on my treatments.

Another way in which I feel very present is when I get into my car and travel to the next retirement home to treat some more mature folk. This is more than likely, due to the fact that in the early days of this new business, I inadvertently attached my tyre to a stormwater drain and had a blowout! Rather expensive that turned out to be. This may also be due to the presence of large potholes on ninety percent of the roads on which I travel. Two very good reasons to focus on the now and keep my attention on the road.

I definitely focus more now whilst preparing a meal or baking. My new wellness and nutrition interest has probably been the cause of it, due to the fact that my new way of eating and preparing food has been a big learning for me and requires my full concentration and attention. I also eat mindfully and that is actually the practice of being present in the moment.

These days I mostly connect with friends on my cell phone.  I now go outside and walk around the garden when talking to them. This keeps me focused on the conversation and enables me to give them my full and conscious attention and awareness.  Back in the day, I would chat on the phone whilst preparing a meal or whilst baking.

When walking or jogging on the treadmill, I watch TED talks or informative youtube lectures. Not sure whether this is good or bad since I probably ought to be thinking of my posture, engaging my core, and feeling the burn in my legs. Easier for me to focus on the talks!

My weekly, wish I could say it was daily, meditation has been awesome in mostly keeping me calm and helping me remain fully present in the moment. My deep breathing is brilliant for this as well.

It was Buddha who said, “The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.”  So, actually I am quite pleased with my progress. Often, I am not and that really is okay. Slow but sure steps are the way to go, particularly in these extraordinary times that we find ourselves living in.

Reading and researching a little more, I found some ways in which we could be fully in the present.

1. Smile

Each day is full of endless possibilities! Start it with a smile. Our face communicates our state of mind to others and to ourselves. It becomes a self-prophesying story. You smile at others and they smile back. Be intentional about it and you will find yourself doing it every day without even realizing it. I smile at everyone at every retirement home. I believe they think I am nuts. Most of the time they smile back, and then we all feel happy!

2. Perform random acts of kindness.

These acts help you to live in the moment and it makes you cheerful as you brighten up someone else’s day. This is particularly gratifying if you get a smile or a thank you, especially when you do it expecting nothing in return.

3. Fully appreciate the moments of today.

Soak in as much of today as you possibly can – the sights, the sounds, the smells, the emotions, the good, and the bad.

4. Forgive and let go.

If you are harbouring resentment towards someone because of the hurt or injury they have caused you, try to truly choose to forgive and forget. Let go and choose to be present in the moment instead. Not so very easy for me.

5. Give thanks.

Be thankful as often as you are able, even if it is just for the fact that you have a roof over your head, food on the table or a magnificent family to share it all with. This helps you to live in the moment in such an awesome way.

6. Love your job.

If you do not, plan to try to change this, either by changing your attitude and mindset or by changing your job. I really do love what I do, but there is a big element of overwhelm at the moment as I am doing a bit of a juggle, but it will all be good in the long run. By loving what you do, being fully present in each moment becomes a breeze.

7. Dream about the future but work hard today.

Dream big. Set goals and plans for the future, realizing that working hard today is always the first step towards realizing your dreams tomorrow. Do not allow dreaming about tomorrow replace living in the moment. Take action today to realize your goals and aims.

8. Do not rest on your laurels.

If you are still talking about what you achieved yesterday or last month or year, you have not done much today. Celebrate the victories, big and small, but focus on today and the here and now to create success for the future you.

9. Stop worrying.

You can’t fully appreciate today if you worry too much about tomorrow. Realize that tomorrow is going to happen whether you worry about it or not. And since worry has never accomplished anything for anybody, redirect your mental energy elsewhere. A huge work in progress for me.

10. Practice patience.

Be okay with small steps and making progress in your own time. In so doing, it will allow you to accept the present moment and just be with whatever is, because everything is fine the way it is.

11. You are not your thoughts.

This is deep. When you live in the moment, you realize that you are not defined by your thoughts and that you can actually observe them, without judgement. In this way, you can deal with them objectively. I really, really struggle with this.

12. Think beyond old solutions to problems.

Our world is changing so fast that most of yesterday’s solutions are actually not the right answers today. Let us not get locked into a “but that’s how we’ve always done it” mentality. Be in the moment and create solutions for the now.

13. Laughter

My feeling is that a deep hearty laugh will definitely keep you centred and fully present in the great moment that you are experiencing.

 

Again, I am not a psychologist, nor am I a philosopher, so my writings are just my thoughts and some thoughts of others. I am pleased with my personal growth in this area and hope to continue with this.

So, now I believe that the precious commodity of time and being fully present in the moment are equally important and are inextricably linked.

With thanks to Joshua Bekker for his thoughts and insights.

Let us try to live every moment fully, laugh every day from our belly, and love with all our heart.

I would love to know what you think.

My thirtieth tip.

I really love this quote by Maya Angelou: “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”  Be kind to someone today and make them feel special.