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I just watched the latest Pixar movie Soul last night. Well-worth a watch. Without betraying too much of the storyline, the moral of the story really is – we often think we must have a grand purpose and goal in life, to the extent of missing most of the journey. We miss being present for most of the time it takes to get “there”, and then, truth be told, find that the destination is not exactly the pinnacle of fulfilment that we may have imagined.
There is a scene where the main character sits on the sidewalk, looks around, surrounded by the hustle and bustle of New York City. Pausing, he looks up and watches the fall leaves float down and seeds helicopter in the wind. This falls into his hand and we wordlessly understand that he has experienced a moment of ‘being’, of true presence.
In our busy lives, we habitually run ahead of ourselves, driven by pressures, schedules, societal expectations, goals. How do we then pull back and learn to be more present? The simplest things are hardest to do.
The invitation is to Pause. Withdrawing our attention from the past or the future, we turn towards right now, right here. In many meditations, you might hear the guidance – Nowhere to go, nothing to do. For a moment, dropping the urge to be ‘somewhere else’, this is the simple secret to presence.
The point is not what’s there when you pause, but that you practice pausing. Because true effectiveness and responsiveness can only happen in the now, not in the imagined past or future. True living and experience can only be known in the present. This is not woo woo stuff for those who live in La la land, but the most real and practical approach to life that we can take!
Don’t just take my word for it – try it today and everyday!! It’s possible to practice pausing at any moment – look around, breathe and smell, feel your body, taste your food. Attend to your life and the world as it is here and now!
