It is an interesting
feeling living in the NOW, almost like not standing on solid ground, yet it's
more stable really than where we used to stand which was predominantly
constantly in the past or future. Living
in the past can have us feeling emotions like regret, anger and resentment a
lot of the time. Living in the future results in a lot of unnecessary and
unhelpful worry, fear, doubt and anxiety. Living in the Now feels, well,
strange at first. Yes it can feel very calming and soothing, allowing yourself
to trust life, trust yourself and trust your connection to that which is
guiding you, all the time. At first
though, it can feel like you are in a void, neither here nor there.
We
are used to being very attached to things, to belongings, to people, to
situations, to jobs. Take ‘time’ out of
the equation, and all of a sudden a whole bunch of stuff becomes irrelevant. Simultaneously, a few things stand out as
being truly valuable and truly precious to you, leading to a greater
appreciation of what is truly important, and a stronger desire to live your
life accordingly.
Living
in the Now leads to a sense of detachment when it comes to certain situations
that previously would have had you plugged in. Ideally this is a healthy
detachment to those things that were not really serving you, but detachment of
any kind can feel disconcerting. It can make you feel ‘disconnected’ if you
have been overly attached to someone or something external to you, or
previously received your sense of identity from that someone or something.
A
very relevant comment came through recently with someone saying well does living
in the Now mean we not worry about next month’s bills? For the record I have
learned not to worry about bills due next week let alone next month, and yes
this includes those times I have no idea where it’s going to come from. I've
learned to trust, not on blind faith, but from experience after experience
where the money that we truly need always comes when we most need it. This
doesn’t mean I sit around waiting for miracles to fall out of the sky. You
learn to listen to your instincts, to follow those inner nudges and prompts.
They are the keys that unlock and open doorways of opportunity. They are the Hansel
and Gretel cookie crumbs that lead us to magical (natural) synchronicities.
They are our inner GPS at work, providing lightbulb moments of clarity, saying
this way, this way!
On
a random, or not so random, note, 21 years ago I took off my watch and haven’t
worn one since. Has that helped me live in ‘Now’ time, not having this watch
attached to my body? Of course like everyone I have to look at the clock, there
are places to be, people to meet and so on. (Actually I've never had a clock in my home either - the 'time' is not hard to find thanks to phones, computers, cars, etc etc) But has it made a difference not
having a watch physically on my body this whole time? For me personally, I feel
it has. I am curious however – has anyone else felt the need not to wear a
watch, and have you felt that this has made a difference to your life?
© Dana Mrkich 2013
Haven't worn a watch in over a decade, since I last had a job where I did need one. At first, I remember finding it funny that I was constantly checking my wrist out of habit - even sometimes when I wasn't even really looking for the time. I moved from wristwatch to tiny pocket watch that I could pull out when I needed, but wasn't quite so everpresently THERE/asking to be checked. As you said - so many clocks on all the gizmos now, you really aren't much of anywhere that doesn't have loads of them. And, truth be told, I wish many of them had the option to turn the derned clock feature OFF, because why do I need three clocks in one room coming off of three different devices anyway!!! However, the one funny thing now is that I'm now looking to go back to the wee pocket watch. Not because I really *want* to in many ways, but now that one of my bubs is older and in afterschool sports, I'm finding I need to have a bit more awareness of what the clock says whilst sitting on the side of the playing field so that I'm not late picking up one or the other. For people who are constantly on their mobiles and such, this isn't an issue, but I am one who usually has my mobile buried deep in my bag (if not off) so much of the time because I don't like to be bothered with it unless it's a true emergency where I'm expecting a call, that it's too much of a PITA to check that vs. the wee watch method, and one feels a bit awkward asking someone ELSE to dig out their mobile just because you don't want to dig out yours LOL. And lastly, the only important thing is to have at least ONE clock in the house that doesn't rely on electricity or a device which must be charged because in a power outage, one suddenly realizes the value of the good old fashioned wind up, wee battery using ones, or the ones which only require solar or your own body movement etc. But yes, overall VERY liberating not to live by clocks as much as one can manage it! :-)
ReplyDeleteHi Dana,
ReplyDeleteAlmost 15 years ago, I decided not to use watch any more because it felt very unnatural for me. Obviously I have to look at the time sometimes :). But living in the now makes me feel more connected to the rhythm of the nature, listen to my own body, my intuition, and it´s easier for me to connect with my timeless inner center.
Thank you very much for your posts.
Regards.
Lo.
Hi Dana,
ReplyDeleteI stopped wearing a watch 26 years ago and have not worn one since. It was liberating - my view opened up. Instead of looking down all the time, you lift your eyes and really see. So yes, I would say it has made a difference to staying in the now, however, I will add that over different periods of time other things have become that distraction which has led me away from being in the noe. xx Johanna