3 Ways to Practice Being Present
At times when we should be creating beautiful memories, we neglect the physical, human company of our loved ones for social media and other things that distract us from being present.
Welcome to the 22nd issue of The Aim and Soar Life, a weekly Christian personal growth and lifestyle newsletter that provides actionable, relatable, biblically rooted content to help you live abundantly and GROW YOU. GOD’S WAY.
Hey Fam!
If I were to ask you if you were really living your life to the fullest, enjoying everyday moments, I wonder what your answer would be. I asked myself the same question, and sadly, most of the time, I am hardly ever enjoying life to the fullest. I could always blame it on external circumstances that are out of my control, but the truth is, I often don’t enjoy myself to the fullest because I don’t allow myself to be “present.”
You may have heard other definitions of being present, but for the sake of this post, I’m going to define it as being fully focused, engaged, and responsive to the moment.
Your today is more important than your tomorrow or your yesterday.
I know you’ve been out to dinner before and have seen two people or an entire family sitting together at the dinner table, while each person dilly-dallied on his/her cell phone, practically unengaged with one another.
At times when we should be creating beautiful memories, we neglect the physical, human company of our loved ones for social media and other things that distract us from being present.
When talking about living in the moment or being present, you must plan to be intentional about cherishing the moments you’re given. Whether you are just gazing out the window with a hot cup of coffee, admiring nature, or catching up with friends, you’ve got to fully commit to being focused, engaged, and responsive to the moment. Here are three ways to do it:
Rank Your Priorities
When my son was in elementary school, I taught him to request mental health days when necessary. In our house, these were days when we weren’t physically sick but needed to stay home from school, work, or an event to mind our mental health.
I always wanted my son to be honest with me, so I discouraged him from telling me he was physically ill when what he really needed was a mental health day. This helped me to maintain a pulse on his stress levels (yes, kids become stressed!).
On some of our mental health days, my son would want to play board games with me or relax and watch a movie with me, but I was too distracted with work and other responsibilities to be in the moment with him. I noticed the disappointment in his eyes and realized I would never get the time back again.
I began to stay in the moment when we were home together. I did this by prioritizing time with him during our mental health days. We both decided what we would do together, and I made sure I was present for that time. This taught him that being with him, and making memories, was important to me.
You can’t fully enjoy anything if you don’t prioritize it. Rank the things you need or want to do by order of importance. Focus on being present while you engage in your number one priority. Then move to the next thing.
Block Out Time
Setting aside time to be present in life’s moments sounds simple, and it is if you commit to doing it.
After you rank your priorities for any given day, set aside time for those moments. This will ensure that you can focus on one thing at a time, even if it’s just having a peaceful moment to yourself to drink coffee and read the news.
Set an alarm on your phone and put it on your calendar. If your family has a shared calendar or a place where you can put notes, write in your sacred time to help everyone respect the time you have blocked off. It will (hopefully) lessen interruptions.
In order to be present, you have to honor yourself by not overloading yourself with several different tasks at once. This is the epitome of self-care.
If your priority for the day is to be present at your child’s or grandchild’s ball game, and you have blocked the time out, you’ve permitted yourself to be fully engaged in the ball game. Psalm 39:4-5 reminds us how fleeting our lives really are. You’ve got to take advantage of the time you are given by making it count.
4 “Lord, make me to know my end,
And what is the measure of my days,
That I may know how frail I am.
5 Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths,
And my age is as nothing before You;
Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor.Psalm 39:4-5, NKJV
Remove Distractions
I don’t know about you, but sometimes, I have what I call “Martha Syndrome.”
You remember Martha, don’t you? Jesus was teaching in the home of Martha and her sister, Mary.
Well, honey, Mary was chillin’ at Jesus’ feet, learning, while Martha ran around doing “stuff.” In my imagination, I see her setting out some delicious-looking hors d’oeuvres.😂
Martha complained to Jesus that Mary wasn’t helping her and instead of Jesus telling Mary to help Martha, he compassionately explained the facts of life to Martha.
41 And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. 42 But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”
Luke 10: 41-42, NKJV
If you want to be present, you must remove distractions. Martha couldn’t concentrate on Jesus because she had way too much going on. Her priority was not sharing the moment with Him. It was on stuff that didn’t matter at that moment.
When you are with family, friends, or even spending time with God, you must remain present in that moment. Nothing else matters at that time. Don’t squander precious memories, attempting to multi-task, because something always goes lacking when our attention is spread too thin.
Enjoy the precious gift of life in everything you do by being present!
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email: sherrhonda@sherrhondadenice.com
Until Next Time,
GROW YOU. GOD’S WAY.
This is exactly what is needed, especially in this day and time❤️
This matches exactly where I am. Thank you for the night read.