How Can You Be Present In The Here And Now?

A guide to Mindfulness

The world is fast-paced enough as it is. Everyone’s racing to the finish line every day, including me. But when I’m here, in our little paradise, I try to find solace in taking things nice and easy.

Gone are the days when I came home from work, turned on the heat pump, and started my evening routine.

Since moving off the grid, I come home and spend roughly half an hour lighting the fire. First, I need to go and get firewood and kindling. Then I can start lighting the fire. Usually, that’s when the fire dies because I get distracted for a second, trying to multitask, so I have to start all over again.

There’s nothing like lighting a fire to force you to be in the here and now.

I’ll admit, some days, I miss the times when one click of a button heated the room.

But most days, I love how our way of living forces us to slow right down.

If everything around you slows down, you start to slow down, too.

It’s a constant reminder to be in the here and now, to be mindful.

What is mindfulness?

There are many definitions of mindfulness, but I like this one: “Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us.” (from mindful.org)

Mindfulness is about being in the here and now.

It sounds so simple, but achieving a state of mindfulness is easier said than done.

As mentioned, now that we live in nature far away from everything, it’s become somewhat easier.

Life goes at a different pace out here. Yesterday, as I was boiling some water for a cup of tea, I stood outside and admired my surroundings. I listened to the sounds of the birds around me. I heard the beating noise of a kererū’s wings (New Zealand native pigeon) and listened to where it was going. It landed on a nearby branch and settled in to soak up some early sun rays, its white chest beaming in the sun.

This is mindfulness.

I wasn’t rushed to get that cup of tea. I wasn’t focused on anything else. I was just present in the moment, aware of what was happening around me, enjoying the moment without being overly reactive.

It can be that simple.

Do you have to go to a 10-day meditation retreat to do this? Do you need to book a yoga retreat in Bali to finally achieve your eternal bliss?

No, you can practice mindfulness right now.

Benefits of mindfulness

The benefits of mindfulness are endless and well-researched.

Mindfulness, being in the here and now, will improve your well-being, help you feel calmer, boost your concentration, allow you to better understand your thoughts and emotions, and can even improve your physical health. By being in the present, you will be more able to engage with the people around you, truly noticing what is going on for them and yourself.

The mechanism behind this is very interesting.

The main characteristic of mindfulness is open and receptive awareness without getting caught up in things. This is different from rumination, absorption in the past, or anxieties about the future, which can pull you away from the present moment.

This is how mindfulness helps people disengage from automatic thoughts, habits, and unhealthy behaviours. When we stop ruminating, we’re able to be in the present moment, and we can choose healthy habits—this will automatically lead to improved well-being.

Mindfulness is openly experiencing what is there without trying to change it.

This is another key aspect: mindfulness is not about changing things or even about having a particular goal.

Mindfulness is about just being in the moment, nothing else.

Once we assign a goal or purpose, we are no longer in the here and now. We are focused on whether or not we are achieving the goal.

“Mindfulness, as we conceive it, is present awareness and attention per se—“the ground in which the mind’s contents manifest themselves” whatever those contents might be at the moment.” (- Brown and Ryan, 2003)

Mindfulness is about witnessing or observing our ongoing emotional and psychological experiences. This, in turn, promotes a balanced emotional life.

How can you be present?

I have a tendency to always want to maximise the moment.

It’s a tendency I’m fighting hard to resist and change. For example, I’m always listening to audiobooks and podcasts to ensure I’m at least learning something in every moment. I listen to them at 1.5X speed because that way, I’m learning even faster!

In preparing so hard for the next moment, I’m actually missing this very moment.

Mindfulness is the solution. There are many ways to practice mindfulness:

• YouTube or Spotify offer many free guided mindfulness meditations. Even just a couple of minutes every day will make a big difference.

• Mindful breathing. Take a couple of deep breaths and feel the airflow from your nose through to your lungs. Doing this a couple of times a day can build in little mindful moments.

• Mindful walking involves going for a short walk outside (preferably in nature) and experiencing everything around you. Walking slowly allows you to truly see the beauty and hear the natural sounds.

• Taking a quiet moment. Life can get so busy at times. Taking 2 minutes out of the busyness to appreciate the sounds around you can really give you the feeling that you’ve slowed right down.

• A mindful cup of tea is a personal favourite of mine, potentially because I drink a lot of tea. I use the preparation of my cup of tea as a mindful moment. I wait for the water to boil, wait for the tea bag to soak, smell the aroma, and truly savour the tea.

There are many mindful moments that you can build into your day.

Remember, you don’t have to do anything big—just a couple of minutes every day will already have a profound effect on your life.

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Let me know in the comments which mindful moment you will be building into your day?

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Want to keep reading? Here are a few other articles I wrote about Mindfulness and meditation:

I’ve Meditated More Than 1000 Hours, Here Are 3 Things I’ve Learnt

1 Limiting Belief Holding People Back From Trying Meditation

Off Grid Mindset Series — Lesson 1: How You Can Slow Your Life Down Right Now!

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Something that inspired me this week:

This is an amazing video. Loretta J. Ross is an inspiring woman, and her video tells us something important about call-out culture.

This is a little blurb of some of the incredible things she has achieved (taken from atmos.earth - the article is worth a read as well):

“A survivor of rape and incest, she helped coin the term “reproductive justice” and was made the third-ever executive director of the first Rape Crisis Center in the U.S. She spent much of the 1970s practicing restorative justice by listening to incarcerated men convicted of raping and murdering women to better understand their motivations in her search for redemption. In return, she introduced them to radical feminist thinkers. Professor Ross was also actively involved in organizing for the civil rights movement. As the program and research director for the Center for Democratic Renewal, she traveled to rural Tennessee to meet with the wives of Ku Klux Klan members.”

Don’t call people out, call them in and have a conversation with them.

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This is what you can expect from me every week! A long-form article related to a reflection or life lesson on personal growth and one thing that inspired me this week. If you liked this, don’t keep it to yourself; share it with your friends:

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