Presentness

The act of choosing what is over what could have been or could/should be.

There are myriad things we tend to worry about, things that disturb our sense of being and hence, living. Rumination that cost us rather than profits us. Questions mainly surrounding what was, what could have been, and what could or should be.

In all these mental pandemonia lies the answer that appears succinct yet overwritten, because of course, it’s easier to dwell in the past and worry about the future than make do with the present.

And before we know it, we’re swelled up at the cost of our peace of mind — which leads to countless diseases, both precedented and unprecedented, one of which is depression.

Depression becomes the order of the day as we can’t seem to reverse the hands of time, neither can we stay calm in the present and work towards the future turning out different.

Presentness represents our state of being present, in the know, now, and everything related to our current state as opposed to what was, could have been or what should be.

Presentness spans across many strata of life; relationships, spiritual, psychological, you name it — and its advantages are numerous in a myriad of ways with respect to each stratum. It’s a matter of choosing it — always too.

Presentness mainly alleviates anxiety and other consequent debacles that come with it. Amid this, it also abolishes regret and guilt which normally stem from the question of ‘what could have been’ and deaden the fear and overpowering predictions of the future otherwise gearing towards the question of “what could be”.

Being present encapsulates a lot.

It’s a mental urge you force yourself to abide by. It’s one of the most effective ways of living over existing because you get to be present in everything that happens around you. It takes good self-awareness to fathom when you’re present and also derailing from the loop. It takes a good self-care system to figure out ways to avert disturbances that may be detrimental to your mental being. It takes a good sense of self to forgive and let go of the past, and to remain calm in the face of turbulent rumination concerning future possibilities.

It’s not easy, however.

You have to make the choice to imbibe mechanisms that will let you stay and remain present. Mechanisms such as a good meditation exercise once a day, times that you’re freer and calmer, preferably early in the mornings, or journaling your day to day activities and seizing the opportunity to write down in details events that normally lead to down-spiraling thoughts and hence, absenteeism — and figuring ways to avert them — like mainly choosing what is over what could have been or should be.

These mental exercises help you in becoming more aware of your sense of self, that is, self-awareness, in link with detecting and detracting from omens which are not good for you, that is, self-care as aforementioned.

But as humans, we are bound to stagger in our quest to remain motivated in accomplishing what we need which includes presentness and that’s why there are mantras and inspirational quotes in line to guide us and protect our minds when you start to derail in the course.

One of the most important for me, and which has helped me thus far, is the quote from my dad which says “today can still make up a long time ago” meaning that it’s not too late to start correcting your path and making those changes you regretted not doing in the past.

Need to start showing more gratitude over complaining and nagging about life, you can start today, now.

Need to start learning to show love to the people you once neglected and are totally worth it, you can start doing so today, now. Etc.

Today can still make up a long time ago. It’s all about being foresighted over shortsightedness. Overlooking short term dopamine release over long term meaningful rewards.

When you start now, today, count 365 days from now and it would have been a year since you began. Consistency is key.

Other inspirational quotes that work for me includes;

“Learn from yesterday, live for today and hope for tomorrow” by Albert Einstein.

In essence,

“Remember, that today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday” — Dale Carnegie.

So what is it doing to be?