Dare to... Enjoy The Moment

Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment. Buddha


It's not unusual that our lifestyles today have us running at frenetic speeds.  For the hustle and bustle of modern life leaves many people forgetting to enjoy the moment, not understanding that each and every second is filled with wonder and possibilities... wonderful moments that could be savored, are blurred out. While we can't change the things whizzing past us, we can stop ourselves from being swept away by it all. The key... press the pause button, focus on the present... moment by moment. Living in the moment is all about living like there's no tomorrow.

•  Pause now and be still and silent within yourself.  Enjoy this time with the words you read. You are being offered an opportunity to remember to enjoy it just as it is and just as you are... right now.
• Give thanks for the people, places and things, for the experiences they bring... even in the little things. Dare to be thankful for making it through rush hour traffic safely, watching the sunset, places you have visited. Create opportunities to give thanks. You may know someone who never seems happy? Be ready with a smile and a kind word each time you see them. It may require patience, but eventually, they'll smile first when they see you.  You will then find that your interactions with them will be much more pleasant. And guess what... you'll have a new reason to be thankful.
• Acknowledge a moment being offered, it amplifies the moment for everyone. Consciously connect with it and appreciate it.  Let others know when they've done something that you're thankful for. For example, let the power of the moment rejuvenate others... let your daughter that your shopping excursion with her was a pleasure or let your friend know that the email she sent to you really made your day.  Acknowledge and celebrate not only the power the moment gives you, but the one who reminded you it was there for you.

So pause, give thanks and acknowledge the moment. The beauty of enjoying the moment is in the stillness of your mind... slow down.  You can't fast forward or freeze frame moments you want to enjoy... they are all absorbing.  Dare to pause now and be still within.  Realize the beauty in every moment, and in everyday activities too. It’s a conscious act that requires your participation... not just your observation.  Remember that the reward is a richer, fuller life. This is your life, so live it now and dare to... enjoy the moment.

Click here to read more articles from my Dare to... series.
 

Dare to... Practice Moderation

Virtue is a habit of the mind, consistent with nature and moderation and reason.  ~ Marcus Tullius Cicero


Being moderate is doing just enough for you... working enough and resting enough. I don't mean doing just enough by being mediocre or complacent, no, no... that would be going to the other extreme and that's not good.  Moderation simply means creating balance in your life. It means using self-discipline to keep from overdoing it, like stopping before you go overboard. But, moderation is even more than that. It's a specific kind of balance. It's being conscious and aware of what you're doing. And, recognizing that too much of any good thing is bad. Even a virtue, when pursued to excess, crowds out other virtues and causes harm.

When you practice moderation you have balance between insufficiency and excess. For example, while talking too much can be disruptive, not talking enough, you get ignored. And when there's a discussion, your special way of thinking about things will be missing from that discussion.  So, knowing the right balance is the key to moderation if you want to be kept from being blown about in the wind of your wishes and successes. Without moderation you can get swept away and damage yourself by things like drugs, alcohol, or crime, then becoming addicted, you want more and more and more.

Nutritionwise: Nutrition on Purpose

“To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art.” -La Rochefoucauld

Nutrition on Purpose

We all know that good nutrition helps us achieve good health and well being, with the ultimate purpose of good nutrition being to stay alive and to avoid disease. However, food is not just about physical nutrition, it also has an emotional, mental, and spiritual component. Some may call it holistic nutrition, whereas all aspects of your needs, including psychological, physical and social should be taken into account and therefore seen as a whole. Holistic nutrition views food, eating, wellness, and exercise not just in terms of calories or weight loss, but in physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual terms.

Just think about how hard it would be to experience clarity, subtle insight, or even a calm state of mind when there's heaviness, sluggishness and fogginess in our bodies, or when turned around...  being too hyper or too wired with excess energy in our bodies.  A poor diet creates sluggishness in our digestion, in our energy level, and in mental activity.  To be alert, aware and clear is what we should want from our food.

 “Our food should be our medicine and our medicine should be our food.” – Hippocrates

So therein lies the motivation to be purposeful to choose to eat nutrient-dense and appropriate food.  The benefits of healthy skin, good energy, strong bodies, good sleep, etc are derived from a healthy diet, but the deeper purpose is much greater.  Ask yourself these three questions when you approach your next meal to see where you stand on being intentional and purposeful when choosing foods for your next meal and your whole health. 

Dare to... Count Your Blessings

"The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings." ~ Eric Hoffer

To completely count all of your blessings that life affords you each and every day would be hard. There's just no way to do that.  But sometimes we are so busy that we forget to pay attention to the blessings that are present in our lives.  And there is no excuse for that. At least a few times a week, you need to remind yourself of your blessings, or you will forget they are there.  Most people have a daily 'to do' list filled with things they need to do for the day; problems that needed to be solved. So many problems that they never get around to counting their blessings. 

How about this. Your car won't start  You spill your coffee on your new skirt. You wanted to throw in the towel, drive home and crawl back in bed. You may be fed up to here. You may say that you have had enough. Every single thing that could go wrong seemingly did.  And that fed-uppedness spilled over into your whole day.  It all starts with one bad event and then it seems  to start a chain reaction...or so you think. 

You can turn things around. Realize that when you let that first unfortunate event push you over the edge your life has a tendency to spiral out of control.  Instead of just laughing about it and chalking it up to just another day in paradise, your day takes a turn for the worst and no amount of resuscitation can salvage it.  Its all about awareness, pausing and being attentive to all the ways you have been blessed. Use the three easy ways below to count your blessings.

Dare to... Shoot For The Moon

“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.” ― Les Brown

Dare to...

Dare to.... aim high, go ahead, do it because even if you don't quite get where you're going, you'll be further along than you were before. And "try your hardest" or "give it all you've got." But most importantly, give yourself more credit than you have been giving yourself in the past.

Give yourself the potential and creative thirst for wanting to do more, achieve more and have more, it's your right. What's important is how you perceive yourself, because the possibilities of life are open for you to grow and stretch yourself in every facet in your life. So, dare to....:

shoot for the moon

• Change your thoughts. Change your thoughts and change your life. Success is a habit you embrace on a daily basis, not just every now and then.  And the earlier you get into that mindset the sooner you will be able to embrace the possibilities awaiting you. The mind is everything and remember we become what we think.

• Get off the shore. Stop waiting for someone to give you a chance, you've got to take a chance.  Do something different.  Try something new. In order to do something you’ve never done, you’ve got to become someone you’ve never been. Stretch the potential within you by giving yourself permission to aim higher and be a greater you.

The Inner Path: No To The Ego

“The moment you become aware of the ego in you, it is strictly speaking no longer the ego, but just an old, conditioned mind-pattern. Ego implies unawareness. Awareness and ego cannot coexist.” ― Eckhart Tolle

Life and Stuff

The ego is a powerful thing. So many people have been snared by this conceptual element and don't even know it. The ego disguises itself as... you.  A conception your identity in a physical form.  Elements of the outside world and of personal experiences are mostly repressed by the ego... that's a problem.  The ego comes out as your character for all to see, not always seen as an overinflated sense of self.  It can turn up in feelings of inferiority or self-hatred also, because ego is any image you have of yourself that gives you a sense of identity.   That identity derives from the things you tell yourself and the things other people have been saying about you that you've decided to accept as truth. Yes, and that's why it's important for you to let go of the ego and be you. The ego is a protective and guarded shell for you, not protecting you, but separating you.  It's a barrier, cutting you off from other people and the outside world.  Separating you... from you.  

The Inner Path: Gain Control of Gluttony: Food and Otherwise

“He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with 

what he would like to have.” ~ Socrates

Gluttony

Many are familiar with the term Gluttony; to gulp down or swallow; to over-indulgence, over-consume food or drink, or things to the point of extravagance or waste.  Maybe you're really picky about your food... wanting it to be prepared just right, or in just the right amount.  For the most part, one of the biggest misunderstandings about Gluttony is that it only pertains to food.  However, for people who can't have enough toys, clothes, shoes, entertainment, sex, collections, or even company ... it's about the excess of things and stuff, including food.  Sometimes we might complain about unimportant defects in a product, the temperature in the room, or the color of a napkin.  Most people understand there is a certain amount of discomfort to be expected in life, but those who're Gluttons don't see it that way. Instead of becoming strong by suffering the minor inconveniences of life, the Glutton insists on being pampered. No one dares to point out how petty or foolish they are. In fact, some celebrities are praised for their excessive perfectionism, as though it were a virtue.

The Inner Path: The Power of Our Words

Thousands of words pour out of our mouths daily, freely expressing our thoughts and opinions.  However, we're rarely aware to the positive or negative effect they have on ourselves and the people around us, at least not consciously, anyway.  But, words give out energy and a message which creates a reaction in others.  And, it all begins with a thought. Our thoughts have tremendous effect on us even though they're internal. What we think, effects our emotions, our attitudes and our behavior. A thought spoken, however, has even more power...it can't ever be taken back; it's been said and will have an effect. 
 

Think of your words like a boomerang, the reaction often returns in a multiplied form..... if you speak words of judgement to someone they will judge you back, probably with more intensity since their judgement has the pain or anger, caused by your words, attached to it....get it.  Whereas words of kindness and acceptance will generate a warm and appreciative reaction in a person...

The Inner Path: Growing A Healthy Attitude Through Mindfulness

 What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? Psalm 8:4

Being mindful is paying attention on purpose, in the present moment with qualities like careful, compassion, curiosity, responsibility, awareness and acceptance. Mindfulness is a desirable quality which produces a healthy attitude. It can reduce stress, blood pressure and even anxiety. Growing a healthy attitude means you've gotten to a point where greed and hatred are absent from your mind and you're aware of whatever is happening in the present, without judgment.  Even Psychologist and Physicians are paying attention to mindfulness today than in the past.