"Today is a gift. That is why they call it the present" - Eleanor Roosevelt
I discovered this quote in the StarTribune by my favorite meteorologist, Paul Douglas. His column was titled "Savoring the present". He noted that at a recent seminar he attended a scientist explained that the average person is only in "the present" for no more than ten seconds. My challenge for us all is to be fully present for at least ten seconds today. And if we can do it today, let's try for tomorrow too. Pretty soon we might make it a habit ;-)
Buddha was once asked: “What are the teachings of you and your disciples”? He answered: ”We walk, sit and eat. The man who asked the questioned was confused: “But so do I”, he said. The Buddha answered him: “Yes, but when we walk, we know that we walk, and when we sit we know that we sit, and when we eat we know that we eat”
This is to be fully present.
Here in the Twin Cities it looks like it will be a spectacular, sunny day, with a high around 63 degrees. A great day for savoring!
2010 MN State XC Meet |
"When the researchers analyzed the experiences of a subset of 2250 adults, about three-quarters of them from the United States, the first thing they noticed was just how often people weren't thinking about what they were doing. Over all, subjects' minds were wandering about 47% of the time, the duo reports online today in Science. Only during sex did mind-wandering occur less than 30% of the time. "
ReplyDeleteSources:
http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2010/11/daydreaming-is-a-downer.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/nov/11/living-moment-happier