Are you living?

Hello and welcome to a new day! The sun is beaming through the gray clouds here in NYC. It's been all rain the past 2 days.And more today...so they say.

It's so ironic as the summer is fleeting away, I just happen to get a cold over the weekend. :-(  I'm good though. It'll run it's course and by Saturday I will be simply marvelous. lol. I had to stay home and rest these last two days though. My body was like, stop. No trains, no walking a few miles, no running all over the city. Rest. Our bodies always show us how to treat them. :-)

Something was on my heart this morning and I just wanted to ask, are you living? I mean are you enjoying your life right now. Not tomorrow, not when you make your first million, not when you have a partner, not when you lose 20lbs, not when you pay off your debt, but NOW. I had to train my mind, and I'm still working on it, to live in the now, appreciate it, relish what is happening right now. Let go of what happened yesterday, learn from it. Stop worrying about what will occur tomorrow. Let go of regret. Living is being present in the now. Plan for the future, but live in the moment. Be wise and be joyful for all that is so preciously wonderful right now. They say the French are skinny b/c they savor each and every bite of food. They chew slowly, and indulge in the smell, the texture, the feel of the food in their mouth. And guess what, by doing that they eat much less and enjoy it so MUCH more. :-).
I've always eaten a bit too fast. So, I'm practicing how to chew more and savor more. It really takes effort, but I believe in the end, it'll be worth it!

I've learned one of the easiest ways to keep my mind in the present is to think of what I'm grateful for right now. I immediately stop focusing on the errors of yesterday and the "to-do" lists of tomorrow. I appreciate and participate fully in my life at that moment. It makes life so much sweeter!

"Today is life-the only life you are sure of. Make the most of today. Get interested in something. Shake yourself awake. Develop a hobby. Let the winds of enthusiasm sweep through you. Live today with gusto."~ Dale Carnegie

 “Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings. And once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it. You must make a mighty effort to keep swimming upward into that happiness forever, to stay afloat on top of it.”~Elizabeth Gilbert 
Sending mindfulness your way. Tag you're it!

Madison Mikayla. I wanna feel like this DAILY!