'It's all about now'...'All we have is the present moment'...'Mindfulness helps stay present'
It's ubiquitous today....anywhere you look you'll hear it; wisdom from guru's, books, blogs, podcasts. It's ancient wisdom, sure. In fact it's technically a 'truth'. One does after all live in each moment alone.
But are we going overboard with it ?
On a podcast I was listening to this morning, the topic came up and the speaker says 'that he doesn't believe in taking photographs, because taking a picture takes away from the present moment, plus even later it's taking you back into the past, away from the present' he said
And I was listening amazed because for over an hour I'd enjoyed the rest of what he had to say. He was a smart guy.
And I was listening amazed because for over an hour I'd enjoyed the rest of what he had to say. He was a smart guy.
So, what really does being 'In The Present' mean?
Does it mean no thoughts of the past, no indulging in memories, no emotions from instances gone by?
Does it mean no planning for the future? No dreaming? No anticipation?
Stretching these cryptic truisms into 'literal meaning' seems to be doing just that. And worse, almost adds in a layer of guilt when you're thinking either direction beyond the present. (ubiquitous remember)
As with any truth, there is a paradox contained within. The present moment already contains the past and the future. Don't silo. Don't fret over trying to separate them out. (You'll end up not taking any pictures :)
Does it mean no thoughts of the past, no indulging in memories, no emotions from instances gone by?
Does it mean no planning for the future? No dreaming? No anticipation?
Stretching these cryptic truisms into 'literal meaning' seems to be doing just that. And worse, almost adds in a layer of guilt when you're thinking either direction beyond the present. (ubiquitous remember)
As with any truth, there is a paradox contained within. The present moment already contains the past and the future. Don't silo. Don't fret over trying to separate them out. (You'll end up not taking any pictures :)
A lot of our learnings come from our own experiences. Experiences happen in the past, processing and understanding happen in the present. We don't need to force a separation there.
Using awareness to change habits, patterns, and beliefs requires a level of introspection and what's inside of you is an accumulation of all your past experiences. We don't need to shy of going in there.
Also societal confirmation. There's so much emphasis on conformity to norms. All of norms get created from the past. We need to be able to look back and see which of those make sense to us and which we can drop, which ones are actually regressive, meaningless....else you're just going to be walking the laid out path, living by default.
Even to know oneself.....to be oneself, takes a lot of deconditioning. Needs looking back, else we risk staying conditioned.
Something as simple as diary writing wouldn't exist if we did that, and there's enough and more benefit to diary writing, I can personally vouch too :)
And about the future.....when we have goals or objectives or ambitions, we need to be able to visualize and imagine, think through, do risk assessments, mull through possibilities. It's fine, in fact it's at times needed that you step into the future.
Where are we drawing those lines.
If you insulate yourself into ONLY the present moment, avoiding a moment of 'joy' or 'upset' from the past....not looking at 'excitement' or 'possibilities' of the future, you might be missing out on lots. As said by Brene Brown in The Power of Vulnerability, unless you touch your vulnerable spots, you could miss out on 'the highs' and ' the flows' .
I'd rather think of 'Being Present' as 'Being Aware', if you are taking a picture in the present, it's not necessarily taking away, maybe it's actually adding to your experience too. It's about your own awareness of the moment, doing what's right for you, what's empowering for you.
That would be a beautiful 'present'.
Using awareness to change habits, patterns, and beliefs requires a level of introspection and what's inside of you is an accumulation of all your past experiences. We don't need to shy of going in there.
Also societal confirmation. There's so much emphasis on conformity to norms. All of norms get created from the past. We need to be able to look back and see which of those make sense to us and which we can drop, which ones are actually regressive, meaningless....else you're just going to be walking the laid out path, living by default.
Even to know oneself.....to be oneself, takes a lot of deconditioning. Needs looking back, else we risk staying conditioned.
Something as simple as diary writing wouldn't exist if we did that, and there's enough and more benefit to diary writing, I can personally vouch too :)
And about the future.....when we have goals or objectives or ambitions, we need to be able to visualize and imagine, think through, do risk assessments, mull through possibilities. It's fine, in fact it's at times needed that you step into the future.
Where are we drawing those lines.
If you insulate yourself into ONLY the present moment, avoiding a moment of 'joy' or 'upset' from the past....not looking at 'excitement' or 'possibilities' of the future, you might be missing out on lots. As said by Brene Brown in The Power of Vulnerability, unless you touch your vulnerable spots, you could miss out on 'the highs' and ' the flows' .
I'd rather think of 'Being Present' as 'Being Aware', if you are taking a picture in the present, it's not necessarily taking away, maybe it's actually adding to your experience too. It's about your own awareness of the moment, doing what's right for you, what's empowering for you.
That would be a beautiful 'present'.
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