Living in the Moment

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There is much talk these days about mindfulness and living in the moment. I'm afraid that I am not a great one for meditation and when I have tried, have enjoyed nothing more than an opportunity to daydream as my mind wanders, flitting like a butterfly.

In this morning's yoga class, the instructor tried that long familiar technique of focusing on the breath and asking us to bring the mind, whenever it chose to take a little saunter, back to the breath. I think I'm a useless case, because I actually revel in those small mental rambles.

Retirement, of course, is the perfect time to really start living in the present if you haven't already honed the technique. When you are working it becomes routine to think about the weekend or a forthcoming vacation and then when you are away from your desk to think about the files piling up awaiting your return. We may have spent our lives fretting about actions in the past and worrying about the challenges around the corner, so tied up with anxiety that we cannot appreciate the present. Once, however, we close the door on the past, it's easier to live in the here and now.

The simple life that I've been advocating, with its emphasis on living in tune with nature, encourages us to concentrate our senses on the environment around us, taking note of all the colours, sights, sounds, tastes and smells. There are no comparisons to be made, it's all about immediate and intense perception. I may not be able to meditate, but out in the garden or on a long walk in the countryside, the power of the sensory experience means that I do revel in the present.


Paradoxically, if you live in the moment, how do you ever plan for the future? I guess that's where you take to camping permanently in your strawberry patch and high on the stimulation of nature and the smell of compost, give up forethought altogether. Alternatively, with the knowledge that even in the most laid back of households, bills must be paid and shopping lists penned, we accept that living in the moment 24 hours a day isn't going to happen but that we can still sneak ourselves off there as often as possible. When we do, we focus on and enjoy the experience without distraction, fully connected to and aware of our presence amidst the splendour of our surroundings.

Perhaps the instructor will make a yogi out of me yet: at one with the universe, feet grounded on the Earth; why, I may even feel a sun salutation coming on!

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