PRESENT MOMENTS

By Rafet Khaliq

To capture any moment in time you need to be in the moment in order to absorb, and fully indulge in that moment - sometimes the smallest thing can sit with you to have a profound effect - this can take place as - a look, a feeling, a connection with another and some self-realisation.

So many amazing things take place in the moment when you fully indulge; you embrace life, connect with the senses, breath and feel, being totally complacent with the here and now. What an amazing place this is for us to stay. If this was the case and we enjoyed all our present moments, life would be much more stress-free, we would neither worry about the future and all the things we wish for or allow our past to weigh us down - we would be happy in living the fullest life of each moment as it comes.

So why don’t we live this way? If it’s as easy as that!

I believe its awareness; we are so consumed by how we normally think and how our thoughts devour us that we don’t realise we’re doing it. A study by Harvard Psychologists, Matthew A Killingsworth and Daniel T Gilbert (2010), iterated that most of us spend 47 percent of the day with our mind wandering, thinking of something other than what we are presently doing. The same study correlated how being in the present moment and happiness are connected. Even whilst you’re reading this article notice how many times your thought wanders from reading!

Catch yourself wandering from the present moment and next time bring yourself back each time it happens. Staying fully focused is also a pandemic of our time which is an increasingly growing concern, so we may struggle greater than our predecessors. Bring your attention to your senses, notice all the things you can see, touch, feel, then take a few deep breaths in and out and savour it for around 15 to 30 seconds, this process will help rewire your mind to encode the experience.

Practice makes shifts, do this every day, start with something that you do daily for example brushing your teeth, showering, walking - notice the rustling of snow or leaves under your feet, feeling the wind in your face, appreciating the birds flying above. Remind yourself to do this and build up your experiences through the different activities. Every time you do the same thing, it is different from before, you live, you learn, you grow, so notice how you’re doing the same thing...differently!

When you’re living in the moment you appreciate it, for it will never come again and you can’t take back time, it is a gift. While you reflect and presence. ‘Pray as if it is your last prayer, don’t say things today that you’ll have to apologize for tomorrow, and despair at what other people possess in this world’ (Prophet Muhammad SAW)

Living in the moment expands your perception of time, it no longer flies by, it’s relished through wealth of presence, it’s more meaningful, you enhance relationships, increase productivity at home and at work. It’s living life at its fullest, more than anything this will be a whole new experience for your prayer (Ibaadat). Imagine if you’re fully present in your prayer, in Qur’an, how much more spiritually fulfilling life will be? Your connection with Allah SWT, the gratitude for everything increases as your value to everything is much more enhanced.

So next time you find your mind wandering, pause, reflect, come back to the present and remember to capture any moment you need to be in the moment.

#becomeyourbetterself

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