A saying I’ve heard my whole life from my Dad is “carpe diem”. He says it every chance he gets and now well into his eighties, his reminder that we “only live today once, so don’t waste it” rings true more than ever!
Carpe diem is a Latin phrase meaning “seize the day”. The saying is used to encourage someone to make the most of the present rather than dwelling on the future or the past.
What Does Living In The Present Mean?
The question for us is how could we be living in anything BUT the present? After all, you are here now, reading this article – so aren’t you currently “in the present?”
Yes, of course – but are you fully conscious of reading this article and ONLY focused on this article are are you anxiously waiting for a phone call or text, or thinking about the lunch you have to prepare or the laundry you have to do, etc.?
The truth is that today’s modern life often provides us all with too many opportunities to be disconnected from what is happening in our lives – right now, in the present moment.
Of course, there is always something coming up in the future we need to prepare for and our lives are so well documented that it’s never been easier to get lost in the past. Being torn between those two worlds leaves us worn out and feeling out of touch with ourselves.
Not to mention that when you are not practicing being in the present moment, it’s very much like going through life on auto-pilot. Here are some examples of what I mean.
Have you ever eaten a meal mindlessly, and didn’t even take notice of what you were eating or how it tasted?
Have you ever arrived at your destination and not remembered the details of how you drove there?
How To Live In The Present
We can make another choice, however.
We can switch off the autopilot and take the wheel ourselves. We can pay attention – really pay attention.
Pay attention to things as they are, in the present moment. We can notice all that is happening within our mind, body and in the world around us right now.
Maybe most important of all, we can focus on the person, or people, right in front of us. We only have to do one thing – be present.
Intentionally focusing our attention on the present moment though takes practice for it to become a regular habit.
Here are 4 activities that can help you to reinforce staying in the present more:
- Writing in a journal can help you to visualize daily goals or keep track of things that you are grateful for, even as a way to clear your head by focusing on the positive and helping prevent the blurring of one day to the next.
- Meditation, yoga or another type of mindfulness practice is a way to help you to carve out time every day to intentionally be present. Mindful breathing, which is simply focusing your attention on each breath can help to lower your heart rate and stress levels.
- Being outside in nature can engage all of your senses and gives you an opportunity to be intentional with your awareness.
- Creative outlets such as art or music can help you to fully immerse in what we are doing in the present.
On a daily basis, we can practice listening to others with curiosity rather than anticipation. Instead of forming what we are going to say next, we can actually listen to the other person and hear their words.
And in today’s digital world, where we hardly do anything without an electronic device, it can be helpful to take a walk, do yoga or enjoy lunch without your phone, tablet or laptop by your side.
It takes practice to be present, to really live “carpe diem”, but it’s my honest opinion that we’ll never get the most out of life until we do.
It’s essential to a healthy life to spend some time thinking about the past and the future – and yes, it’s hard to know exactly what that balance looks like for you – it’s different for everyone.
But, you’ll know when you’ve hit your balance when you notice that you are worrying less and generally experiencing less stress on a regular basis and find yourself living the majority of your life in the present.
