"Lose yourself” in the present moment and find contentment!

Key Takeaways:

1) We willingly engage in certain projects or hobbies that feel fulfilling.
2) They are “fulfilling” because they keep our attention anchored totally in the moment.
3) It’s actually the present moment itself, and not what keeps us there, that brings peace and contentment.

The Placement of Attention

For most of us, one thing not emphasized in life is the need to be in charge of where we place our attention.  This does not make us willful or wrong, because no one taught us this essential need to be in control of our thinking, and thus, placement of attention.  Attention must be right here, right now if we’re going to feel happy, content, and safe. Not wandering off to past or future.

You’ve heard, and probably used, the phrase about “losing yourself" in your work, sports, hobbies, and projects in which you willingly engage. Well, what gets lost?  Certainly not you, but you do lose track of the “story of you” and its self-serving thinking. And, in so doing, don’t you find yourself fulfilled?  Isn’t that why you engage in certain activities? I’m not talking about doing things to distract yourself from loneliness or pain, but about pro-actively engaging in ways that you enjoy.  

The Key To Feeling Good

This is the key - anything that arrests your attention and keeps it anchored here and now feels good. That is because ”feeling good" is built into the immediacy of the present moment and experienced when the “story of me” subsides and is not center stage.  The obvious conclusion is that we must be something more than the “story of me" - and indeed that is true. This realization can radically alter the quality of your life.  

With love to all,
Carol