I thought this picture was perfect for this post. I was looking for someone doing something "mundane" like washing the dishes or doing the laundry to illustrate the point that you really can enjoy wherever you are, if you are actually there for it. But that's just not as sexy as this picture (at least to the mind), so I figured hey why don't I just mess you a bit. Devlish, aren't I?
I choose this picture because it's beautiful to look at and most likely will appease your mind in some way. I have an idea what your mind is thinking when you look at it. I'll bet it says something like "Wow, I wish I was there. That's so beautiful. Life would be better right now, if only I was there."
Well I'm here to say, it can't be better. Why? Because you are not there, you are here, reading this. Actually you can't be anywhere else in this moment of now. To say that the beach in this tropical paradise is better than where you are is simply not true. That is a mind trick. Your mind just thinks it is a better place to be. There's no guarantee you'll be happier there, and I'm sure your mind will find something to complain about once you actually are there. So if you continue to believe the lie your mind is telling you, you can't be happy in this moment or in the ones to follow. Not until you non-judgmentally see what your mind is doing. Which, generally, is off in some fantasy land in the future, or perhaps rehashing the past already gone by.
So what do you do? Nothing. Allow your mind to chatter, watch it yammer away, and don't fight it. You can't resist your mind, that's what it is designed to do. Let your mind be exactly as it is, let your thoughts be exactly as they are (Principle Three of Transformation), don't fight them. Whatever you are feeling around the chatter in your mind can complete itself.
Your life shows up as a moment of now, continuously. Either you can be there for it and pay attention, enjoy it and also be really efficient at whatever you're doing (that includes working at your job or even relaxing watching a movie), or you can be off thinking about where your life is or isn't. Are you really here? It's not the job position that you do or don't have, the acting role you do or don't have, the money you do or don't have, or the relationship you don't or do have. Your life is right now.
So right now as you're reading this post, this your life. It isn't somewhere else. It's here. Take a look at each word as you read it. Take a full breath in of the air where you are sitting reading this. Look up at the ceiling. Look at the walls. Notice the detail of the paint or any pattern on it. Really look and engage and you will get present. Just take your attention off yourself, forget about how you think things should be, and put it onto what is in front of you. It's really that simple to have your whole life transform before you.
You can live your life right now as if everything depends on it, as if it really matters. Whether you are washing the dishes, taking out the garbage, paying bills, working at your job, or taking care of your family--be there for it and you can enjoy it. You might be surprised by what shows up.
