Most of us live in the past or the future.
What about the power of now?
Do you live consciously in the moment or spend much of your time
remembering the past or planning the future?
What is your pattern, and how does it affect your writing
if you are an author?
Memories of people, places and experiences from the past
fill us with regret, nostalgia or delight.
Plans for the future preoccupy our thoughts, whether we
are intent on getting a raise, quitting a job, buying a bigger house,
a nicer car, or taking an exciting trip.
Do you go through your day in a *present-minded* state of
being, focused on what you can positively do and change today?
A disciplined schedule can help you put your
time to conscious use. Do you have one?
It's not all grim, serious behavior in the now. Conscious use might mean sitting on the sofa with some dark
chocolate and a coffee, listening to birds chirping outside or watching the
snow fall, silent and serene.
Here we are in January, the month of new beginnings. A
new year stretches before us like a blank canvas. This is the prime time to commit to being more
present in your daily life.
ATTRIBUTION FOR JANUS PHOTO: By Loudon dodd (Own work) [GFDL
(http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 3.0
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
In a planetary sense, JANUARY belongs to Saturn. In a mythological
sense, JANUARY belongs to Janus.
Saturn governs time, structure, discipline, and learning.
Saturn rewards us when we do what we need to do.
Janus is the two headed Roman god that represented a
doorway, gateway or threshold. In deeper texts, he is said to be the gateway
between Heaven and Earth. Looking in one direction he observes the past, while
looking in the other direction he observes the future. He can only see either
from the now.
Some people believe January is named for Juno, Roman protector
goddess of the state and daughter of Saturn. Most people believe January was named
for Janus.
As a reader and author, I'm very drawn to time travel novels. Perhaps it's a form of escapism that helps me move through the past, present and future with equal delight.
While I don't do new year's resolutions anymore, I've concluded that in 2015 I spent too much time recalling the past and projecting the future, and not enough time shaping my daily life. Just the awareness of this is helping me to shift and live in the moment more.
The now can be a very magical place!
Take this moment to analyze your pattern. Please share if you’d like to.
Percentage
of time I spend in the:
Past
Present
Future
If
you are a writer, do you see how living in the now could help you be more
productive in moving your career forward?
Thanks for stopping by today. May you thoroughly enjoy
your journey through 2016.
GEMMA JULIANA writes all kinds of love stories,
from contemporary to paranormal. She has a penchant for romantic international
settings. Gemma lives in a cozy cottage in Texas with her very own hero, teen
son, and a dog who rules them all. Chocolate and coffee nourish her muse and
fuel her creativity. She loves hearing from readers.
amazon.com/author/gemmajuliana
Great post, Gemma. As a writer I find it easier to live in the "then" than the now. When I'm in the "now" I'm highly distractible.
ReplyDeleteOh look-- a squirrel! ;)
Gemma, inspiring post. I'm an inpatient person and I stress over things I need to do and I worry too much. My "resolution" for this year is to live in the now and let things go that aren't all that important. I'm trying to focus on each day at a time. BTW-I, too, love time-travel novels.
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I often spend a lot of time in the past, reflecting on what I should do differently. But I will certainly be more conscious of being in the now.
ReplyDeleteGood post...Now is all you can influence, after all....
ReplyDelete