In my last post, What Happened to Life’s Magic?, I wrote about how I suddenly lost my sense of magic in life. Everything became very flat, and to my alarm, simple things that used to give me pleasure didn’t seem to do so anymore. Fortunately, I turned to my inner wisdom for help. The first thing that I was directed to focus on was my attention. Where was it?!
I realized that my attention was focused on my worries and concerns. The challenges and problem solving I was facing at the time led me to focus more on my concerns than simply being present in the here and now. My energy was caught up in my head, with my thoughts, instead of being present throughout my body.
It may sound like a subtle distinction because we all face challenges that we need to deal with. But all you need to do is set aside time to deal with whatever’s bothering you, then let go of it and return to enjoying the present moment.
Here are a few questions you can ask yourself just to see if you do let go of your challenges:
How much time do you spend feeling flat and uninspired?
Are you someone who often replays past events, cringing because of something you said, or fretting about something someone said to you?
Do you sometimes find yourself impatiently counting the days, months or years until a certain longed for event happens?
When you focus more on the future than the present, or more on the past than the present, you have a strong sign that you need to put your attention on finding life’s magic again. Now.
Magic happens in the present, and you need to be present to enjoy it.
Here are three steps you can take to step fully into the present:
1. Slow down and take some deep breaths.
2. Feel your feet on the ground and feel the ground beneath your feet for at least a minute.
3. Move your awareness into your body, your legs, your pelvis, your tummy, your chest, your shoulders, your neck, your head and your back and your arms and hands.
Notice how being present feels different to how you were feeling before you took this three steps.
When you slow down, you feed your soul.
You create your future from what you think and do in the present. So the present moment is truly sacred. To experience true inner happiness, you need to be present and to embrace the present.
In my blog post, next Tuesday, I’ll talk more about feeding your soul.
It can be quite scary when you feel like the magic has disappeared. Life feels flat, like a corkless bottle of champagne the morning after the night before. Even the little things that used to give you pleasure don’t seem to strike the same chord anymore.
