Life gives you plenty of time to do whatever you want to do if you stay in the present moment.

How can we live fully in the September moment when we’re surrounded by Thanksgiving and Christmas decorations?  Walking into the stores, you get the feeling you’re behind on something that’s not happening for 4 more months!

I spoke to a friend today who was looking for shorts for a picnic this weekend.  She found the stores are filled with autumn clothes and the only shorts available were picked over on a clearance table.  Her comment to me was “Do I have to know and purchase in February for events in August?”.  I laughed out loud and realized that’s just what the retail stores want us to do – spend our money now for what we’ll need in 4 months.

And that may be why we’ve come to live much of our lives in the future instead of in the present.

Of course it isn’t just the retailers.  Add school and work deadlines, extra curricular activities, family events, etc.  and we now have lives that are over-booked.  Half the time we don’t know if we’re coming, going, or passing ourselves!

I can’t stand the “passing myself” any more.  Contentment is living and enjoying the present moment without thinking and worrying about the next..  The good news is that we have the ability to create more moments of contentment if we would block out periods of time to “live in the future”. 

For this purpose consider the ‘living in the future’ as synonymous with looking at the upcoming days and preparing for them.  If we take a few short minutes to prepare for our tomorrows, it will free us up to enjoy the present!

If you invest a few minutes today to look at tomorrow’s horizon, you will have the additional benefit of an uncluttered mind.  A little preparation and planning today can save a lot of time and worry tomorrow.

 C’est la vie! (“That’s life!”)

Just remember, life doesn’t go ‘as planned’.  Sometimes things happen and plans need to be changed, but the unexpected can be handled with much less anxiety if your map (plan) is beside you.

Adjust your route, accept the detour and maybe you’ll even enjoy the new scenery!

Plans are made to help and guide us, not imprison us!  A plan is just a simple overview of what is coming and what is needed; it should be fluid.  You can change priorities or activities daily with no worries of “missing something”.   Don’t imprison yourself to your plan – maintain Gumby’s philosophy and “Be flexible!”

In the meantime, let’s ignore the retailers and let each month and season arrive on their own terms. You can’t really enjoy the warm September sun and crisp air if you’re mind is in November.

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