A Life on Hold – Stay Positive

Do you ever feel like your life is on hold? That maybe you’d make a big change if the timing was right or you had the money you needed?

I’m feeling like that at the moment. It’s entirely due to finances. I’m sure the universe will send a windfall to me soon and I’ll have the funds I need to do the things I need to this year.

Until then I’m going to take the advice of my mindfulness instructor. Live in the moment. Live for now. It’s good advice. I need to stop living in my hypothetical future. I spend a lot of time daydreaming about meeting the love of my life. I need to be more present. It’s very hard when you want something so badly and when you’ve been unhappy for so long. I’m also the most impatient person in the world!

So how does mindfulness teach us to be present and live in the moment? Let’s take three things from an average day:

Shower: wake up, go in the shower – feel the water on your skin. Feel the bubbles of your shampoo. Feel the warmth of your towel.

Breakfast: instead of scoffing your porridge as quickly as you can. Eat it slower. Feel the texture in your mouth. Feel the warmth as it fills you up.

Walk: stop daydreaming or thinking about things in the past or the future. Open your ears and listen, birdsong, traffic, a dog barking, children playing. Wherever you are, there are sounds. Feel the ground, hard tarmac, squelchy mud, crisp leaves, soft sand.

If you are present in the moment you should be feeling, tasting, experiencing, smelling. Using all of your senses. It’s ok that your mind wanders off into thought. Notice that and then bring it back to right now.

I’m reading Ant Middleton’s latest book: Zero Negativity: the power of positive thinking. It’s really good. And he talks a bit about mindfulness but in his own words. During the first or second chapter, he talks about life goals and wants and wishes. It’s a beautiful take on how we view our life and really makes you think. He basically says that positivity is a state that we need to keep ourselves in. For example, a refugee trying to escape a war-torn country just wants to get across the sea. That is their goal for right now. Bam. That made you feel a bit crappy about the material things that you think you need!

Realise that what you have right now is ok. You need to keep positive and enjoy it. We’re all stuck with our lives on hold because of this terrible pandemic. It won’t last forever. But you need to be positive and be thankful for what you have: food, a bed, a roof over your head. You’ll never be truly happy or fulfilled if you constantly wish you had your future right now. Your future may be filled with everything you wish for (read about the law of attraction) or it might not. But if you spend all of your time dreaming about it you’ll be missing out on all of the wonderful things that are happening right now.

Stay positive. Be grateful for what you have. Know that good things will come. You will get through this.