Living in the Present Is the Only Resolution I'll Ever Need

Meditation has a scary, intimidating sound to it. but if you just let that go, it can be found in everyday things. In January of 2017, my New Year's resolution was to live more in the present. I'm still living that resolution. It stuck. It's something I can return to all the time. I don't have to make a new resolution every year. I can just use that one to do anything I want in life.

I started with cleaning out my closets that year. I decided to pull everything out of all of my closets at once. It was a bold move. But one I knew I needed to take because  I was so worn out that if I started small, it would never get done. And one I had the luxury of taking because I live alone.

Then I lived in the present every day by focusing on the little things. I didn't look at the big mess. I just walked over the mess and  took small parts and addressed them every day for months. Little by little it got done and got done the right way. That one thing led me to so many rewards.

I need to do another big closet cleaning. I have some trouble balancing my resting and my house cleaning still. But my huge purge 2 years ago and keeping things really minimal has made cleaning up and clearing up so much easier when I do it.

But what does that really mean to live in the present? What I tried to do is focus on stopping myself from ruminating on the future or the past. I've found that the way to do that is to just do something. Focus. Focusing sounds intense. But it is one of those paradoxes that I love. When you focus you can let go.

In meditation, you focus on your breath. When you focus on your breath, you can let your thoughts go. That's why personal training with Khris is so present-moment and meditative. It's very focused. When you focus on your form or your breathing or small precise movements, you let go. You are not mindlessly doing reps or thinking about what you're going to do later in the day.

When you focus on small things, you are in a meditative and relaxed state. I remember reading an organization book that started with shining your kitchen sink. It told you that no matter what the condition of your entire house, it wanted you to empty your sink and clean it until it shined. You were to scrub it with Comet and use SOS pads and do everything possible to make it perfect.

It was a way to get you to take some action, but not just any action. An action that was focused and small and really had you in the moment. You didn't have to make decisions and your mind couldn't wander.

I love small focused tasks like that. Sometimes, they are the most satisfying. Cleaning a light switch plate or a door knob. Shining a mirror. Cleaning the screen on your phone.

The expression that the little things are the big things is perfect for meditation and living in the present. It's why I love yoga and training. If you start to judge and worry, you've lost your focus. Sometimes when I'm in yoga or training, I can make an improvement that is so tiny. Sometimes I can only feel the intention of the improvement in my body. I can feel my energy reaching in that direction. To me, that's meditation. It's living in the present.

If I have things I want to do or find I need in my life, I think the place to start is to figure out how I can live in the present to make them happen.