I just finished a book called "Practicing Mind" about the value of living in the present moment. And it was so good, that I'm going to listen to it again. And I would recommend it to anyone who has trouble living in the moment and being in the here and now.
And while the author meditates on a regular basis, he's not a meditation instructor nor is he espousing any schools of meditation.
His point throughout the book is that we spend a lot of time in our country focusing on goals, our eyes on the end product. And he succinctly points out that when we do that we miss a lot of moments of our lives.
His point is mostly that the enjoyment in our lives comes through the process of creating and obtaining the things we are focused on – not in the possession of what we had as our goal.
And I'm sure we've all experienced what he's talking about at some point in our lives. Take for example the years when we decided we wanted a new car and were finally able to get it. At first, we didn't allow a speck of trash or dirt in that car. We washed it every week. We waxed it. We didn't park around other cars for fear that they would scratch it when they open their doors.
But as you all know, the novelty of that wonderful object we were looking to obtain wears off. Pretty soon the car no longer holds its fascination for us. We allow trash and dirt to accumulate in it. We rarely wash or wax it anymore. And we're busily looking at the next goal that we want to obtain – the next thing we think will make us happy.
Now goals are not a bad thing. But if we only have our eyes on the goal are we enjoying the moments of our lives spent trying to obtain that goal? Because as the author points out, we put a lot of effort, skill, education, in achieving different goals. And when we get them we find out that they are somewhat hollow and empty.
He says we should focus – and I heartily agree with him – on the processes that allow us to obtain what we want. That's where we're able to flex our mental and creative muscles and put in the hard work that allows us to get these things that somehow don't seem so magical once we have them.
After all, we feel much better about ourselves if we realize that we're the sum total of what we do – not just the things we have.
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