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Being in the here and now not stuck in “when…” and “how…”
So that description above was me on a Sunday morning a few weeks ago. I decided to check out a new massage place that had recently opened up in my neighborhood. I had looked forward to this massage for a while before the day arrived. As I settled in to have all my achy muscles pummeled, I lay my head in that little massage chair hole and breathed out into the nothingness.

This was my mind: “Ahh how great it is to be here having a massage..well done me for booking this in…thank you past self!…finally my first one of 2023…so great to finish that office renovation… so what next will I do in 2023…” and then the train left the proverbial station…my shopping list of ideas for 2023 kicked off barely as the last project ended.

My mind left the building while my body was being massaged.
Has that happened to you?

Maybe it’s when you “go for a walk” but actually your body walks and your mind is quite happily occupied in your to do list.
Or you “have a shower” cause that is good for self care but you don’t actually remember being in the shower?
Or you might “go for a drive cause that will take my mind off things” but do you actually remember being in the car?

So often our body is in one place and our mind is in another. 

When I noticed that my mind wasn’t present to my long-awaited massage, I giggled, added it to my mental to do list to write to you about it, giggled at the irony I was still not present because I wanted to write about not being present, then I relaxed into the massage… embodied in the moment.

I know this may be a bit out of left field but my advice is that we have a lot to learn from dogs when it comes to being more present.

Dogs are completely in the here and now.
When they get a rub, they collapse their body to receive it fully.
When they see the ocean, they run towards it joyfully in full presence (at least my dog does).

When they feel too wet, they instantly shake it off.
When they see the human they love, they look right into their eyes deeply.
When they see food, they are instantly present for it.
When they sleep, they really, truly, sleep. splayed out, smashed asleep.

Dogs aren’t preoccupied much with other things.
They seem to dive deep into each moment in full and total presence. 
We have a lot to learn from dogs about the true art of really BEing in each here and now moment. We want to be humans BEING, not humans DOING.

BTW the massage was one of the best I have had in decades…just saying.

You keep asking and each Wednesday, I will answer.
Warmly on Wednesday,

Mel