Present Moment
As a teacher for 10 years, it became engrained in me to constantly be thinking ahead. Planning the upcoming units, assignments, books to read, questions to ask, how to navigate certain social or emotional situations etc. I always had to be ahead of the game. It’s time to get out of that habit of thinking.
This super organized, OCD-like planning ahead causes spirals of thinking energy and often spins out of control. I catch myself with my children going through detail after detail of what we will be doing next. First we will get groceries, then we will pick up the dog, then we will go to the park. Tomorrow is your friend’s birthday. Two days from now is when we have that playdate planned. Etc etc etc. Just writing that out exhausts me. And although there are some great things for children to learn in talking through these things (hello sequencing!), it causes everyone to not be in the most important place and the ONLY place that matters NOW. The Present Moment. Ah, deep breathe, here we are-now.
The Present Moment is all we are guaranteed. It is the only moment we know for sure and enjoying it will bring deep contentment to our lives. Teaching our children to be here now is also an excellent life skill. It will calm everyone’s nervous system down and, speaking from experience, it slows life down. Whenever I get caught up in the “planning the future” I can physically feel myself getting sucked into this vortex of stress and anxiety. The rush. The never-ending to dos, to goes, to accomplish. And then I’m never here. Now. Appreciating this moment that yesterday I was planning for.
In order to combat this moment-stealer, I have been catching myself and will yell out “PRESENT MOMENT!!” and guide myself back to the here and now. What am I doing right now? Who am I with? How can I soak this moment in more? My son has even called me out on it a few times-I love it! It’s so much more relaxing to come home to this fragment of time and just settle into it. Breathe deeply. And then let the rest of the plans unfold the way they will regardless of how we “plan” for them.