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
