Being in the Now.

What does that mean exactly?

How can we just BE in this moment when there’s so much to do!

Projects.

People to see.

Bills to pay.

Life to live.

Earlier today I saw this word online: Focus.

A popular online personality said that she is going to make it her main word for the year –FOCUS. As in focus and get things done.

Okay, I thought, Yes, I do seem to get a lot done when I focus. It is definitely how I’ve been conditioned to BE in this world in order to be a productive, contributing member of society.

And yet . . .

There’s soooo much beauty. Soooo much peace when I’m BEing in the now. Savoring each breath. Noticing what’s going on around me. Within me.

And then I thought of TRUST. What it means to trust.

Okay, if I’m telling myself I need to focus. Put myself on some kind of a schedule. THEN I’m telling myself that I HAVE TO be that way in order to be productive. In order to accomplish whatever. Be a good citizen. Contribute to society at large.

And if I don’t, well, I’ll be a failure. Tossed about at the whim of whatever pulls my attention this way or that.

*****

And that brought me to some day in time when an image of a boat being tossed about at sea was the topic du jour. The warning of what can happen when one lives a life unplanned. Unfocused.

*****

And yet . . . when I reflect on my life, I recognize how unconventionally I’ve been living. How I have been letting myself be pulled this way and that by whatever is grabbing my attention in the moment. And still . . . in the midst of it all, I have been productive. Have accomplished things that could be considered successful to the outside world.

All while letting go and allowing the current to take me where it will.

*****

Okay, Sj, what are you trying to say?

Well, I think I’m trying to say that it’s possible to do both. To BE in the now and also focus on whatever interests us in the moment.

Because I’m realizing that being focused is as much a part of my nature as is daydreaming.

When I read a good book, I get lost in it. That’s focusing.

When I’m writing whatever, I get lost in it. That’s also focusing.

And when I used to compete in sports, I’d get lost in the moment. Thinking of nothing else except what I was doing. Another form of focusing.

And ALL part of my nature. Who I am.

So . . . on this Saturday morning when I thought I’d be out the door by now, I’ve been pulled to sit and write. To think and reflect.

Was it wrong? Should I have been doing something else?

No.

Because I’ve come to trust this guidance so well.

To trust my soul’s promptings.

It’s gotten me to where I am now. And this now is really, really good. ;-)

xoxox Sj xoxox

P.S. I made an Sj from the Heart video a few weeks back called “Being in the Now.” I had it scheduled to post on YouTube sometime in March (another video was going to be posted today), but . . . in the way that life just keeps unfolding and continually showing me that I’m not in charge, I changed which video would post today to the one you see below (to match this blog post). And there you go. Life is always, always changing, and we’re always, always being guided. ;-)

P.P.S. The image above is of a shower curtain, lol, being tossed about at sea. It is available for purchase if you like it. No, I don’t make any profit off of that, lol. Just find it funny that the image I found that I like is for a shower curtain. Also saw that it comes as a mouse pad and rug. Again, lol.