FALL IN LOVE WITH LIFE BY LAURA

This post could have easily been credited to my mother, or of course Lao Tzu as they both advocate this message. It was my coworker and friend Laura who gave me the answer most recently. When I asked her what she thinks is the key to falling in love with life, her eyes lit up as she recalled a conversation she had with her son recently. As her son watched her become upset and anxious, he informed her that she needed to stop worrying so greatly about the future and focus more on being present. How many of us could use that advice?

It is easy to tell someone not to worry about the future, but how can we do that? If we study the quote above, it makes things crystal clear. Focusing our energy in the past, which cannot be changed, is a waste of our precious energy. Worry about the future, which has not happened and may never happen, is a good deal of wasted energy as well. The more we are worried about the future, the more that should drive us to be present. Why? The only thing we have that can affect the future is the actions we take in the present. If those actions amount to nothing other than sitting on our hands and worrying, we will not have much of an impact at all.

Lowering stress and increasing drive are two great reasons to be present. They are also two ways to love life more. The picture above highlights what I think is the greatest reason to focus on the present. If you are too worried about the past of the future, you often miss both the beauty and the opportunity in the present. Look at the dog fully immersed in what is happening. He is probably enjoying the woods, the man’s company and surely a squirrel or two. The man may not even realize he is in the woods or that the dog is next to him. The closer we come to a calm mind, the better we are positioned to take advantage of all life is offering us in the present. Whether that is a job opportunity or just a squirrel.

Laura, my mother and Lao Tzu are all right. Being present is one great way to fall back in love with your life. There are so many miracles that we miss every day. Simply being alive and able to breathe is a miracle in itself. By transferring our concerns about the future into motivation for the present and insuring we remain fully engaged in that present are two great ways to fall in love with life. How would you answer the question, “What would you tell someone to do if that wanted to fall in love with life?”