I’ve had one of those days where I’ve been stuck in my mind.
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Thinking about this coming weekend, this coming month, this coming year. Analyzing any and every past memory that popped into my head. And identifying myself with every subtle shift in emotion that came up as a result of my thoughts.
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I went from feeling overwhelmed to anxious to unmotivated to worried to stressed to guilty to drained to “just off”.
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All day, I could see I was struggling to be present, yet it felt like I couldn’t slow my mind down enough to actually experience the moment I was in.
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It wasn’t until I started to write down how I was feeling that I even thought to just take a few deep breaths.
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Feeling the air go through my nostrils, into my throat, and down into my lower stomach. Then making its way back up the same path as I slowly breathed out. And repeat.
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Feeling my toes digging into the couch I was curled up on and my fingers gripping the pen. Feeling my shoulders release tension with each exhale.
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Feeling the actual moment instead of the emotions evoked by my overactive imagination.
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Instant peace. Instant calm. Instant grounding.
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It always amazes me how quickly I can get present when I just focus my attention on breathing and the physical sensations of the actual moment. But what’s more amazing to me is how long I’ll let my mind run wild before I take any action to quiet it.
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It’s always easier said than done..
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But sometimes it just takes remembering that who we are is much more than our minds. That our mind is a part of our body but definitely not the whole thing. So, it’s easy to get ourselves into trouble when we over-identify with it.
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And that the mind, although it has many amazing qualities & can be quite a powerful tool, is not always the best at staying present in the moment.
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So if you notice it spinning out of control.. Remember to take some deep breaths. And really feel every detail of each inhale and exhale. Until your attention returns back to your body and the present moment it’s in.
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