Lao Tzu said it best “If you are depressed you are living in the past. If you are anxious you are living in the future. If you are at peace you are living in the present.”
Being mindful means to be fully aware and conscious of something. Make that something, yourself. Take a moment to think about how you feel, what is going on in your life, and how it is affecting you.
If something happened to you in the past and it is on your mind it is okay to acknowledge it, but dont let it controls your attitude for the day. Take time to think about it, contemplate what steps to take because it happened, and then move on. You are the sum of your experiences and they have helped to shape you into the person that you are today. Be happy with who you have become because no one else has gone through exactly what you have.
But what if you are busy worrying about the future and the things that may happen? The best advise that I can give you is that the future is always changing. You cannot control the future, you can only help it to take shape. You shape the future with the things that you do today. Rather then living in the future you should focus on the present. The things that you do today will become your future. The quote that was originally used for farmers says it best, ” You reap what you sow.” It literally means what you do now will lead to what you have in the future.
Throughout the day you need to stop a moment and take a moment to be mindful. Look around you. Take in the sights, smells the aromas that surround you, and ask yourself “How am I doing right now?” This little step done throughout the day will assist you in being mindful. This keeps you from living in the past with depression, living in the future with anxiety, and will keep you in the present, at peace.
Happiness and you 