Living In The Present Moment

In the past few years I feel like I made a lot of improvement when it comes to staying present in the moment. What made a big difference for me was practicing gratitude. Every day I used to write down what I'm grateful for in a notebook or just stopping for a moment and thinking about it. I still do that as it really changed my mindset about many things for the better. I also used to write many "what I'm grateful for" type of posts on Steemit which was just another way of expressing my thankfulness.

I believe that we should not totally "ditch" our past or future. There are so many things we can learn from our past, so many experiences that make us who we are today, memories we cherish or even some hardships that are (hopefully) making us stronger, make us grow as individuals. Also having hopes, dreams and goals for our future can give us sense of direction and purpose. Those things are important, I believe, but what can be hard is finding balance in all this past-present-future mess. :)

The best free theraphy we can get! I feel like I'm repeating myself but every time I spend time in nature, it's almost like a mini reset. Connection with nature is very powerful thing that, a lot of times, we take for granted. There is some sort of healing and replenishing energy about nature. It makes you slow down and bring your focus to the present moment, it helps clearing your mind and if there is some sort of physical activity involved - even better!

The reason for this is that we have a few roses bushes in front of our house, together with some other flowers but roses are my favorite. There was one point last year where I would literally pass by them every day, multiple times a day and I didn't even noticed that many new flowers formed and bloomed. When I payed attention it really hit me how much I was in my own head, with so many things on my mind. Before that I used to observe these flowers, look at them, smell them - so I went back to this practice and I loved it. Unfortunately, the area where the flowers are looks bare and empty right now since it's winter so I cannot wait for everything to be bright and colorful again! :) We also have a huge fig tree here which I also really like.

There is something magical about sunsets and I just can't get over it. It makes me admire the beauty of nature and it always reminds me of the fact that endings can be beautiful too as the day comes to an end with this incredible scenery. I am lucky to have an amazing sunset view as soon as I step out of the house or go to my garden. There is also something so calming and relaxing in watching the sun setting and I absolutely love it.

I am guilty of looking at my phone most of the time when I eat and it takes a lot of enjoyment and presence which I don't think is good. Sometimes I intentionally put my phone away and take time to prepare and eat my meal. I still have to work on this bad habit. Preparing food and eating mindfully is not only nourishing our body but our overall being. I do eat a lot more helthier during the spring and summer when I can harvest fresh fruits and veggies from our garden. I also make a lot more smoothies during this time of the year and take a lot of my meals outside as well which is such a mood that keeps me more aware of what I'm doing and my surroundings.

The older I am, the more I appreciate our amazing garden. We always had one, living in Croatia and here in Serbia so I grew up with it being "normal". But the more I learned about all the junk food and how the produce that is served to us in supermarkets is grown, the more I started to take our garden as one of the biggest blessings. My parents are in charge of it but last few years I've been helping them a lot more than before and I really got interested in learning about gardening myself so this year I plan to take a bigger part in helping them. No matter if it's just walking through and noticing the progress and growth of our fruits and veggies, taking care of them (watering, making sure there is no weeds...), picking and preparing them - it always keeps me grounded and grateful.

As someone who doesn't have any pets, I take every opportunity I can to make conntact with friendly animals. This happens mostly during my walks and if sometimes we have a friendly cat in our neighborhood. Even though animals might not understand the words we would say to them as humans would and they cannot speak themselves, sometimes I feel like they understand us better than a person would. They also have this calming and/or playful energy and personality that just brings so much joy and peace to us.

Sunshine, a warm cup of coffee/tea, favorite song, a stranger's smile, a good book, cozy bed at night, an inspiring Steemit post :) - there's so many things to be grateful for if we just take a moment to appreciate them. I highly recommend make this a "challenge" for at least a week, to be aware of multiple things througout the day and just say to yourself "I am grateful for...". You can even start or end your day by writing down 3, 5 or as many things as you want that you felt thankful for that day. It's a very powerful practice and I guarantee it will make you feel better, more present and calm.