Are you ready?
Life can be so fun in the present moment. But with our attention on the past or the future, and thinking about ourselves and others, we often forget where we are. We fret over something that happened in the past, or worry about something that may happen in the future. As you are reading right now, are you here? Or are you thinking of something else, in the past or future? If you feel like I just caught you, laugh out loud. That’s what we tend to do. It’s ok. We also think a lot about ourselves, how we look, how we portray ourselves. Did I say it right? Did I look good? Was that a stupid thing to do? And there is, of course, worrying about what others think. Why aren’t they calling me back? Do they hate me? Screw ‘em, I don’t like them anyway. Ah, the mind.
So if you simply don’t think about the past, or project into the future, and don’t think about yourself or others, you’ll be in the present moment and have fun. “Yeah, right,” you might be thinking “give me a break, Buddha boy, that’ll never happen.” But I promise it can using the Get To Mantra (check out blog #1).
Recently, I was feeling mad at my almost-13 year old boy. He hadn’t done his homework and was watching one of his irreverent YouTube stars. As I stood at the kitchen counter watching yet another pot spaghetti boiling, I said to myself, “I get to be mad”. I automatically thought how lucky I am to have a healthy boy, who may only eat spaghetti, but has plenty of it. He’s in a school that cares about him, and we’re working together to get going on his homework. I stood there in the steam and smiled. And my mind was quiet. I was present. Then I walked over to him and said, “Hey bud, let’s talk.” And you know what, it got better. Of course there’s teacher involvement and Beth (my wife) working with him – it’s a group effort. But I got present and felt peace. It happens often these days.
Use the Get To Mantra and you will smile. Things will change.
-Ted Larkins, author of The Get To Principle