Creating A Peaceful Earth ... Be Fully Present

This is the third installment of 'Creating A Peaceful Earth' where I will discuss Being Fully In The Present.

Today many of us tend to worry so much that we are anticipating the events of the future and not realizing that the present is most important and the only place we can exist.  In fact most of the inventions today thrive on making sure we anticipate the future when in fact we should be enjoying the present.  I have seen so many people talking on cell phones while on an outing with their family.  It surprised me to see that one particular family of four was obviously on a family outing and all four individuals were on cell phones carrying on conversations with callers and completely ignoring each other.  This practice has become much more prevalent in the last 15 years and continues to escalate at an alarming rate.  Is this practice healthy?

Living In The Present Grounds Us

Since it is truly impossible to change anything about the past and no one really knows what the future holds the present must be embraced so that we become more grounded.  With the new technologies that are appearing everyday we are loosing that all important grounded feeling.  This materializes in the family unit as everyone being scattered and unable to find together time and focus on each other. 

Today both parents are required to work but the offspring have their own obligations such as school, sports, band, church and the like.  This does not allow for quality time together as each individual in the family unit becomes more independent.  Everyone has their own schedule, their own daily tasks to complete and there own circle of friends.  With the hectic schedules that the patent's and the children must endure it is no wonder why families feel more comfortable talking on their cell phones when on a family outing.  Each tends to know more about the unseen caller than the present family member.  This is not a practice in Being Grounded.

The absence of the grounded feeling is wreaking havoc on our psyche's.  We were made to live in the present, taking each second, minute and hour at one time.  By focusing on the future and trying to accomplish things in the future we are creating a misfire in our brains and the end result is anxiety, increased negative thoughts, inability to sleep without drugs are a few of many ailments.  So how do we become more grounded?

Being Mindful

Remember hide and seek as a child?  This game required that you always have a home base for if there was none the chances of you being 'it' were far greater.  Just like your childhood your adulthood should connect with a place that feels like home.  Not only a physical space but a mental place where you are loved and have the feeling of being needed.  We are social beings but we need the core of our families to help us stay sane in a world that dwells on living in the future instead of the present.  We need to realize that it is inbred in us to commune with nature and each other in real time.  Not in the future and not in the past for 'here and now' is the only existence we really have.

We must make a concerted effort to stay in the present at all times.  Being in the present will help our relationships blossom more fully and ward off nasty diseases as anxiety manifested about the future is one powerful illness generator.  Create a time each day where your family gets together without any distractions.  Whether it is at dinner, or to play a board game, or to pray or meditate together in the sanctuary of your own 'present' home.  You will be amazed at the increase in health, energy and the renewed relationships that may have been stressed in the past. 

I wish you the best of luck in your new quest to live in the present at all times. 

Dr. Betts