By John A. Anderson
“One of the major reasons why we fail to find happiness or to create unique lifestyle is because we have not yet mastered the art of being.” –Jim Rohn
This moment, right here, right now, is filled with opportunity. It is filled with happiness and hope and promise. If you pause and look for it, you will see it.
But, we are so often not in the moment. We tend to live our lives in the most recent past episodes, or in a future moment. At home we tend to stay engaged in the challenges at work. At work, we find ourselves solving the issues at home.
This happens when we drift through the day without really tuning in to what others are saying to us. If we’re good at masking our mental drifting, we may stop and look up from our computer or phone long enough to make eye-contact, and we may even listen to the words, but so often we aren’t processing or responding to the message. And, the problem here is that what is often being said only hints at what is really meant or felt. That may be gleaned only by living in and listening in the moment.
It’s important to learn from the past and move on. And, it’s certainly profitable to look towards and prepare for tomorrow. What’s frequently missing as we grow and learn is a true appreciation for what’s going on right here, right now. We get too consumed by yesterday and tomorrow that we sometimes fail to notice that today is slipping by. We’re often guilty of getting through the day rather than getting something from the day. Our big mistake is that we are everywhere at any given moment in time except living in that moment in time.
“And so, it is always the case that the past is irreparably land-locked, and the future has yet to land. And here we are, living out our lives on the precariously thin line which separates the two.” ―Craig D. Lounsbrough
The art of being is learning to be wherever you are. It is fostering a special focus on the present moment, and gathering from it all the stuff and wealth and emotion it has to offer. Successfully being is getting lost in a sunset or a child’s story about swings. Making the most of the moment may involve simply listening to and learning from silence. The art of being is living each moment so that it becomes a new part of what we are and of what we are in the process of becoming. In summary, the art of being is less about what we do, and much more about what we experience. And when we learn be in the moment, we will have mastered the art of living well.
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