Article Club

Some girlfriends and I started this article of the week club. Kind of like a book club but with articles that we find interesting. We read it, then get together while the kids run havoc on one of houses and over our apple orchard salads and herbal tea, we get into these great invigorating conversations. These brain stimulating, in depth, opinionated discussions about the articles is blissful. The picture below is what my article club gathering spot will look like soon. You're invited to my club, which color of chair would you prefer??

Last weeks article still has me thinking. It touched me. The words "Choosing to live in the past or future not only robs you of enjoying today, it robs you of truly living". I personally think not only living in the past of future robs you of the moment of now, but also living with attachments, worry and obsessions. As I am trying to find balance and simplicity in everyday, I also see more clearly how focusing all your energy on things that don't really matter can cause you to be neglectful on some of the things that do. So...I better stop before I foreshadow too much of this weeks article.

Article can be found here, but I've pasted it below.

“The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.” - Buddha

One of the best, unforeseen consequences of simplifying our lives is that it has allowed us to begin living our lives in the present. Eliminating nonessential possessions freed us from many of the emotions associated with past lives that were keeping us stuck there. and clearing our home has allowed us the freedom to shape our lives today around our most important values.

Choosing to live in the past or the future not only robs you of enjoyment today, it robs you of truly living. The only important moment is the present moment. With that goal in mind, consider this list of ten tips below to start living your life in the present:

1. Remove unneeded possessions. minimalism forces you to live in the present. removing items associated with past memories or lives frees us up to stop living in the past and start living in the present.
2. Smile. each day is full of endless possibilities! start it with a smile. you are in control of your attitude every morning, keep it optimistic and expectant.
3. Fully appreciate the moments of today. soak in as much of today as you possibly can – the sights, the sounds, the smells, the emotions, the triumph, and the sorrow.
4. Forgive past hurts. if you are harboring resentment towards another human being because of past hurts, choose to forgive and move on. the harm was their fault. but allowing it to impact your mood today is yours.
5. Love your job. if you just “survive” the workweek constantly waiting for the next weekend “to get here,” you are wasting 71% of your life (5 out of 7 days). there are two solutions: 1) find a new job that you actually enjoy (it’s out there), or 2) find something that you appreciate about your current career and focus on that rather than the negatives.
6. Dream about the future, but work hard today. dream big. set goals and plans for the future. but working hard today is always the first step towards realizing your dreams tomorrow. don’t allow dreaming about tomorrow to replace living in today.
7. Don’t dwell on past accomplishments. if you are still talking about what you did yesterday, you haven’t done much today.
8. Stop worrying. you can’t fully appreciate today if you worry too much about tomorrow. realize that tomorrow is going to happen whether you worry about it or not. and since worry has never accomplished anything for anybody, redirect your mental energy elsewhere.
9. Think beyond old solutions to problems. our world is changing so fast that most of yesterday’s solutions are no longer the right answers today. don’t get locked into a “but that’s how we’ve always done it” mentality. yesterday’s solutions are not today’s solutions and they are certainly not tomorrow’s solutions.
10. Conquer addictions. addictions in your life hold you hostage. they keep you from living a completely free life today. find some help. take the steps. and remove their influence over your life.

If you can only live one moment at a time, you might as well make it the present