The other night after having a mind numbing conversation about money, or more appropriately put the lack there of, my boyfriend turned to me and said calmly in conclusion; “this is it”. This is “it” I thought frantically? Really, this? This right here is “it”? I wanted to scream. My mind raced trying to devise a way to get the hell away from “it.” Then after a minute, “it” settled in. Yes, this is it. This is life.
Sometimes things seem good and sometimes they seem bad. But no matter what, this is it. What is happening right now is what we know for sure, it’s the “it.” I am experimenting with being in the “it.” It’s hard. I try not to over think situations, to not make up stories in my head of what I think the situation is, or what I think people think, but to just let it be what it is and to be OK with “it”. To embrace and be open to “it” and deal with whatever “it” is whether we perceive it as good or bad. It’s very empowering when we can recognize that we are not the situation. A particular situation is happening and we are separate from that and can react how we choose to. Just because something may seem unfortunate, tragic, or dreadful at the moment whether it’s a broken foot, a crappy job or a pile of bills we don’t have to become that situation. We don’t have to let that manifest and take over our thoughts, words, and actions. Don’t get me wrong, it’s much easier to become the situation and I am certainly guilty of that. But I am trying to explore another way of thinking.
It’s easy to see the negative, to focus on what’s wrong, to stew in it and regurgitate it back to people. When someone asks ‘how are you?’ how many times do you hear people respond ‘hanging in there’? Suddenly one simple pleasantry opens the floodgates to a conversation about their health problems, their broken car, a sick pet, etc. Why are we just hanging in there? Why can’t we be fantastic? So what you’ve got a cold, you need a new fuel pump or the dog has fleas. We are here and we are in this moment. The cold will pass, the car will run again, and the fleas won’t be there forever.
Enjoy the day, embrace the present.
