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Sometimes, living in the moment isn't exactly the happiest place to be. It has to be done, you can't fast forward the flu, or a cold, or lying back in the dentist chair. You can't stop your car from rolling over on a busy highway, after hitting an icy patch. And many times, you can't stop thinking about something that is bothering you. Something has you worried, or angry, or frustrated, or confused, or afraid. You might even feel inadequate because you just can't seem to get out from under the barrage of "life's moments." You are depressed, lethargic, and gloom city. You let things go that you normally do daily. Your computer is your escape route, and you are anxious to use it as such.
All of this "living in the moment" at times, makes me feel more insecure and unable to rise to the task. Sometimes, living in the moment was, and is, and will be scary and sad and angry and weakening. However, I found that if I did something with my time, something productive, my moments would be more enjoyable. Writing is a wonderful escape from the world and the people and problems in it. It takes your attention to think and type or write, and that attention gravitates to passion and expression, instead of worry and depression.
I also enjoy nature, and wild animals and birds, and swinging on a front porch I adore. That's when I truly live in the moment and enjoy life. Taking pictures is also a great boost to the spirit. Everything is just starting to bloom, and I always have my trusted little maltipoo to pose for pictures. Wild life, flowers, birds, trees with blossoms, and so many other beautiful images. Some problems can't be solved overnight. Time must go by until things can be set right. Those are the times of "living in the moment" that one must develop a style for, because there may be many moments to live through before there is a change.
Life doesn't ask our permission to beat us up, it just does so, and we need to know how to cope. We might not have been taught the skills we need to deal with tough situations, or we may have gotten the right training, and we can deal. I believe in God, and I believe He will guide my life to wherever it needs to go to do the most good, but that doesn't mean I will like His decision, and not rebel. It doesn't mean I won't be fearful or anxious or willing. However, I will go wherever He points the way.
I will adjust myself to whatever comes my way. On the journey to find that, however, I may not be happy in my conformity. And to think, He already knows all this, and more. I wish He would clue me in, but no, I need to learn it on my own. Live in the moment. That always sounds like they're talking about happy times. What if one has serious issues on their minds? Do we focus on them? I have found that yes, we need to, in order to think them through, and figure out how we will deal with situations and make them come out to our advantage, even if they aren't what we would have wanted.
Adaptability is really the key to living a happy and rewarding life, in my opinion. I am adapting daily, it seems. Raising three kids to adulthood has it's moments. I don't like piercings, my kids love them, and get them! I can either disown them, yell at them, or adapt, and accept. I don't want them to have tattoos, and all that dye in their skin, but they get them. Again, do I turn my back on them, or accept who they are, and what their preferences are, and love them and enjoy being with them anyway? Adapting to things I don't particularly care for is much easier than stressing my mind and body out over things I no longer have any control over.
It isn't easy, it takes a lot of thinking and focusing, but it's better than the alternative of negativity and anger. I can allow myself to stay at a calmer level if I just adjust my thinking. If I am going through a rough time, and I find myself enjoying writing an article, or listening to music, Elton John being my favorite, or sitting outside and absorbing the peace of nature, or talking to my partner or one of my kids, then I have learned how to adapt my thinking. There was a time when I wasn't capable because I wasn't willing. Change is a powerful thing. And positive change is so much enjoyable, than negative energy waiting to blow.
Adaptability also allows living in the moment to be more satisfying. My kitchen floor needs to be vacuumed and washed. There was a time when no matter how I felt, I'd be pushing myself to get it done. Everything was "supposed" to be clean and spotless, from what I knew. Now, it's in the back of my mind, and it's bothering me a little, but I am using my mind to talk to itself and assure it that I just don't feel well today, and when I get to it, I'll get done. No guilt, no shame, just reality. I can enjoy the moment of being on my computer, and when I feel like it, I'll do the cleaning.
When I feel drained, and need to sleep, I can enjoy the moments in a nice, fluffy down comforter. I can enjoy reading my son and daughter's e mails, or talking to them on the phone. I will always have that. My mind is rapidly adapting, and I am keeping up with the pace, and that's a good thing. Even though living in the moment isn't always a good thing, because that moment is filled with fear and panic and depression, it is essential to our education about life and feelings and actions and reactions, and how we can better deal with them all. We need to be tested in life much the same way kids need to be tested in school, to see how much we know, and to know when we are ready to learn some more.
So, even though living in the moment isn't always the happiest place to be, it is part of our growth, and needs to be felt and experienced and understood, and once that happens, we can move on to the next moment.
  
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