more present
A few months ago, I found myself in a situation where I was not entirely present while I was driving back from the airport at midnight for over two hours. As I drove up my driveway, I realized that I did not remember very much of that two hour drive. In fact, I don’t think I was really present while driving at all. Not only is this extremely dangerous in the fact that I could have gotten into a car accident (sorry mom), but it’s concerning to me that for two hours, my brain was just somewhere else. All of those people that have told me to “live in the moment” would probably be very disappointed.
Perhaps you are a better driver than me, and you are great about being present while you drive, but you’ve had a lack of presence in other ways. Have you ever been mid-conversation and realized that you have not been listening to the other person very closely? If not, maybe you’ve been on the other end of the conversation, and gotten annoyed by the person that is obviously not tuning into the conversation. Either way, it’s frustrating when anyone is not fully present in any situation. I’m sure all of us have had times when we could be more present with our situation, and the people around us.
It’s tough to remind myself that I need to be present, but what helps me to remember to “be in the moment” is actually to remember the past. We owe it to our past selves to enjoy the present moment because we worked hard for it, and even dreamed of it. For example, in high school, I wanted so badly for time to pass so that I could go to college. However, when I was in elementary school, I remember wanting nothing more than to be in high school. Our past selves strived for the moment we have now, so we owe it to ourselves to make the most of what we are experiencing today. The moments we are having, the people we are meeting, and the life we are living is likely everything that our past selves hoped to have. Even when the moment you are living feels unimportant, remember how important it was to yourself in the past. Instead of wishing away the present for the future, we should enjoy the present for the sake of the past.
Being present is the best gift we can give to ourselves, and every person we are around. By doing this, we are almost guaranteed to make others feel known, valued, and respected. We don’t have to do everything perfectly, but we should try to be more present in all that we do.
Every day and every person is worth our full presence, so how will you be more present today?
There’s more to being present.
There’s more to it all.