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A Little Moment in the Now

Society today is vastly different to the way we were 25 years ago, before the rise of mainstream internet and all the lovely doodads that stemmed from that. What did we do before we got smart phones, google, youtube, itunes, and social media sites that provide that instant hit of mental gratification when we need it? Did people actually speak face to face rather than on facebook messenger? Did family members really talk to each other at dinner time rather than sit there aimlessly flicking through multiple apps on their smart phones? Did people actually see and appreciate the things around them?

As a member of the very early Gen Y tribe, I was privileged enough to experience life before the internet and smart phone domination. Computers were still a luxury for people who could afford them and if you wanted to see what your friend was up to you called them on the telephone and arranged to see them face to face. As a child that feeling of pure joy was absolutely within reach, and was generally my normal state of being. The simple things counted and something as easy as a sunny day provided feelings of utter elation for all the cool things I could do with my friends outside.

When we’re young children life is just simpler. There is no sense of distress or attachment to what other people are thinking, doing, saying, wearing, or buying. Our whole existence revolves around the goings on in the present moment. The concept of feeling stressed, worried, or angry about future events doesn’t even occur to us. Why worry about what might be when there is so much bliss in the now?

It seems that as adults we are constantly concerned with future events, milestones that we must reach by a particular age or stage in our life because social convention dictates that to be the ‘norm’. We’re told that having a successful career, getting that perfect life partner, getting married, having kids, buying a house, and being financially comfortable are the key foundations for having a happy life. In between striving to achieve our life goals, we concentrate on staying fit, looking good, eating well, and keeping up with the latest information on the internet, television, radio, and social media so we can be ‘in the know’ when talking to friends.

As adults we completely overload ourselves with things that only serve to feed our extrinsic desires. As a result we often forget to meet our intrinsic needs by nurturing our inner child and reconnecting with that absolute pure joy and elation that comes by focusing on the immediate present. Nurturing our inner-self might be something as simple as taking 10 minutes out of our day to quietly reflect on the present moment and everything you are grateful for. It might be thanking your body for being in good health, and appreciating that you have the ability to sense the environment around you with taste, vision, smell, touch, and intuition. It might be reconnecting with your physical body by stilling your mind and listening to your breathing as you meditate.

In these moments there are no worries, no stress, and no sadness, we can find absolute pure joy – these are the moments that absolutely count.

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