Personal: Learning To Live In The Present

I recently watched a YouTube video where someone discussed things that their off-grid cabin has taught them. The very first thing she mentioned is that “your space compliments your happiness but can’t necessarily sustain it”. We are each responsible for our own happiness and we can’t keep filling our minds with what-ifs and dreams of living somewhere beautiful that will just melt away our troubles. Sure you can dream about the future and plan for the future, but don’t forget to live in the present because being somewhere new and exciting might bring about happiness temporarily, but you will eventually want something new and exciting again.

This piece spoke SO MUCH to me! I had to pause the video and really reflect on that because I find myself constantly doing exactly that. I was only taking pictures of the rooms in our house that I thought looked nice and just skipping out on all the other rooms in the house simply because they weren’t Pinterest perfect. I kept pushing off starting my YouTube channel because I don’t have the perfect equipment, I don’t know all the ins and outs of video editing, our house doesn’t always have the perfect lighting, and it doesn’t look ANYTHING like the YouTubers I watch. I recently took up a 365 photography challenge to push myself to take pictures in each of our rooms and find the beauty in our every-day lives. It has been an eye opener for me and it has helped me realize that my house doesn’t need to be picture perfect - it is still our home and we are still making memories in it! So why not cherish those memories along the way.

I’m SO ever thankful that I decided to put our fun memories out on YouTube and I’ve learned that our friends and family don’t care if our house doesn’t look like it’s on Pinterest. It is all about spreading love and sharing in our happiness. So many people wait to start living until their life is perfect, until they save up ‘x’ amount of money, or reach a certain milestone. But I remembered the vow I gave myself when we were pregnant with Evelyn: having a baby isn’t going to stop us from living our dreams. So, why should what our home looks like be any different?

I feel like one less burden on my inner state also coincides with our journey to minimalism. Minimalism is a constant life choice, it’s not an end destination. But one thing that most people for get is that minimalism can also change your state of mind and what you choose to stress over, or more importantly to not stress over.

I know this isn’t going to be an easy task to overcome, among others that I’m trying to work on. Last year was a big year of internal work for me and I am continuing into this year! With that goal in mind, here are a few steps that I will be taking to practice living in the moment:

1. Remove unneeded possessions

As I said earlier, minimalism goes hand-in-hand with living in the present moment. Removing items associated with certain memories can free you and allow you to stop living in the past. Or if you have already completed that step, removing overabundance, clutter, and one-purpose items can free up space and help your space feel more open.

2. Practice Mindfulness

I love to start my morning with mindful yoga! I try to do this before Evelyn wakes up so I can really focus on meditation, breathing, and setting intentions for the day. You can also choose actitivities that you regularly perform, resist the templation to let your mind wander, and focus on the specific moments or sensations in whichever activity you are performing (using washing dishes as an example, how does the soapy water feel? What scrubbing motions do you use? Imagine the water rinsing off negative energies. How does the soap smell?)

3. Forgive past hurts

If you are harboring on resentment towards yourself or another human being because of past events, choose to forgive and move on. Allowing those events to impact your mood today is your choice. If a thought pops into your head today, acknowledge it, forgive it, and move on. Learn, let go, and choose to be present in the moment instead.

4. Love your job

If you just ‘survive’ the workweek constantly waiting for the next weekend ‘to just get here’, you are wasting 71% of your life. There are two solutions: find a new job that you will actually enjoy, or find something that you appreciate about your current career. I may not have the biggest income with my job, but it allows me to work flexible hours and spend conscious time with family and I value that more than working for a huge paycheck.

5. Dream about the future, but work hard today!

You can still dream big and set goals and intentions, but don’t forget to take action! Too much planning can cause inaction. Doing little by little each day will help enable our plans in our future. Dreaming about the future can only be productive when it is combined with taking action today.