Moment

"This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." —Psalm 118:24

Lately I've been thinking a lot about being present. Not that this is new for me. Like many women, I struggle with enjoying the moment I'm in...always thinking about what I'm going to do next and trying to do too many things at once.

I've been reading Jesus Calling for my devotional time, and this is a recurring theme. Several weeks ago (February 25) it said "Do not bolt into the day like a racehorse suddenly released. Instead, walk purposefully with Me, letting Me direct your course one step at a time."

The verse that introduced this blog came to mind then, and I thought...it's not just the day the Lord has made. Maybe I need to break it down further. This is the moment the Lord has made. I don't want to let it slip past me.

One reason I love to go to hot yoga class is because it forces me to embrace the moment. In yoga, you have to give so much focus to the way you're moving your body, the breathing, the balance, everything...you can't leave that moment. You can't get distracted. Much more so in hot yoga, in a class with other people, than when I use a DVD at home. This is a great practice for me.

I'm training to be a volunteer where I'll be working with people who've experienced trauma. Last week in training we talked about vicarious trauma - when you move from empathy to sympathy after dealing with so many victims of trauma and begin to experience the same emotions and reactions as the original victims. The trainer talked about various strategies to avoid and/or cope with this. One thing he talked about was being able to remain in the present. He talked about a few ways to do that but one thing that stuck out to me was to focus on the things going on around you. What do you smell, hear, feel, taste, and see?

I've been applying that to my life when I feel like I'm getting too far ahead of myself...because this principle applies in many situations, not just vicarious trauma. How many times do I miss what's going on around me because I'm living in a past or future moment? When I realize that's happening, I stop, take a deep breath, and focus on my senses.

Mother Teresa once said, "Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin."