The Gift of the Here and Now

You know what's debilitating?

Not being here...no, I don't mean at my kitchen table writing this, I mean in the present.

If you're anything like me, you replay memories/images from the past and reel toward anticipation/expectation for future events. 

You have an idea of how you want things to go down and you start to play out the scenario in your head.  And then pretty soon you've relived a past event or created a fictional future event so many times, that you've completely missed out on whatever is right in front of you.

Why is it so hard to stay in the present?  To be aware of the breath?  Mindful of the moment.  Content in the now.  Because really, that's all that we have.  No more, no less.

It's funny how powerful that the mind is...the more that we detach from the body and stay cerebral, the more that we can recreate things that may have never existed or create fear for future dilemmas that may never transpire.  And yet again, then we have lost the moment yet again...unable to retrieve the present.

Running has served as a powerful tool for me to shift gears.  I have no choice but to be connected to my legs, my heart, my arms, my breath, and the motivation in my mind.  I'm grateful to be smack-dab in the now when I'm in motion....slowly re-learning how to appreciate the gift of the here and now.