One of the most amazing things I have found since I began travelling, is how important it is to be present. So often, my mind completely takes over and I get so lost in my thoughts that I completely miss the present moment. I think "wow, this is beautiful." And immediately my mind starts creating the Facebook status I'm going to write about it later, or imagining how I'm going to describe this beauty to a friend or family member at home. Meanwhile, the beauty is still all around me, but my busy mind has made me blind to it.
But lately, I've been making a conscious effort to stay present. To truly take in the vast beauty of what I'm seeing.
In the first case, the mind knows what it's seeing is beautiful. It's an automatic response to say "this is pretty." But then it gets immediately distracted.
When I'm making an effort to be present, to still the mind and take in the beauty with the eyes of the soul, it feels completely different. The trees and the mountains are alive. My mind is still, but I can feel to the core of my being the beauty that is all around me. The beauty is reflected inside me and I know that all beings everywhere are one.
It's almost comparable to someone telling you you look nice, but the good feeling is multiplied by millions. Trillions even. Because it's not my outer appearance (which isn't truly me and will one day disappear) that is being complimented. The entire earth is complimenting everything good within me. And I KNOW it to be true! What a better feeling than looking out at this amazing, gorgeous, living, breathing planet of ours, and knowing that all of that beauty and more exists within each and every one of us, whether we realize it or not.
Often times, when my mind switches back on by force of habit, my first thought is an overwhelming urge to hug everything and everyone on this earth. I feel so connected to my fellow beings and the only way my mind can attempt to grasp this feeling is by wanting to be physically close to everything. Which of course is impossible. But imagine if everyone made a conscious effort to be present? Human destruction would cease. Killing of other sentient beings, the destruction of this amazing planet we live on. It would all stop. Because people would realize that everything out there is an extension of themselves.
I believe we have all had glimpses of this feeling, when the sheer beauty of something stops our thoughts, if only for a few seconds. Next time, try to make it last. Or create it for yourself. Any time, any place. You don't have to be overlooking snow capped mountains in northern India. You can look up at the deep blue sky on a summer day. Or allow the sheer vastness of the universe to overwhelm you on a clear night. You can find beauty in the untouched white after a fresh snowfall or in the sincere smile of a perfect stranger. But notice it. Really notice it. Feel it. Become present. Feel the earth beneath your feet and trust it to hold you. Feel the tickle of the breath on your nostrils and focus all of your attention on this moment right now. Allow yourself to receive the greatest compliment you can ever receive and relish in it, if only for a few seconds. Ain't nothing going to make your day like that.
But lately, I've been making a conscious effort to stay present. To truly take in the vast beauty of what I'm seeing.
In the first case, the mind knows what it's seeing is beautiful. It's an automatic response to say "this is pretty." But then it gets immediately distracted.
When I'm making an effort to be present, to still the mind and take in the beauty with the eyes of the soul, it feels completely different. The trees and the mountains are alive. My mind is still, but I can feel to the core of my being the beauty that is all around me. The beauty is reflected inside me and I know that all beings everywhere are one.
It's almost comparable to someone telling you you look nice, but the good feeling is multiplied by millions. Trillions even. Because it's not my outer appearance (which isn't truly me and will one day disappear) that is being complimented. The entire earth is complimenting everything good within me. And I KNOW it to be true! What a better feeling than looking out at this amazing, gorgeous, living, breathing planet of ours, and knowing that all of that beauty and more exists within each and every one of us, whether we realize it or not.
Often times, when my mind switches back on by force of habit, my first thought is an overwhelming urge to hug everything and everyone on this earth. I feel so connected to my fellow beings and the only way my mind can attempt to grasp this feeling is by wanting to be physically close to everything. Which of course is impossible. But imagine if everyone made a conscious effort to be present? Human destruction would cease. Killing of other sentient beings, the destruction of this amazing planet we live on. It would all stop. Because people would realize that everything out there is an extension of themselves.
I believe we have all had glimpses of this feeling, when the sheer beauty of something stops our thoughts, if only for a few seconds. Next time, try to make it last. Or create it for yourself. Any time, any place. You don't have to be overlooking snow capped mountains in northern India. You can look up at the deep blue sky on a summer day. Or allow the sheer vastness of the universe to overwhelm you on a clear night. You can find beauty in the untouched white after a fresh snowfall or in the sincere smile of a perfect stranger. But notice it. Really notice it. Feel it. Become present. Feel the earth beneath your feet and trust it to hold you. Feel the tickle of the breath on your nostrils and focus all of your attention on this moment right now. Allow yourself to receive the greatest compliment you can ever receive and relish in it, if only for a few seconds. Ain't nothing going to make your day like that.
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