Your Invitation to be Present

I am present. Have you ever noticed yourself in little quiet pockets of your life sitting looking out the window and knowing you are fully present to your experience at that moment? Sunday morning is the time I feel most present. It feels like a gift. I don’t feel anxious about what is to come tomorrow or even an hour from now. I am just here enjoying the present that has been presented. I am also not looking back on what happened yesterday. The guilt, anxiety, would have, should have, and could have been are gone.

In this time and space, it is just me and nature. I say nature loosely. I love sitting out in my back yard with the morning sun listening to the bird’s chirp and the noises of the world around me. I have even discovered the distinct sound of honey bees from these sacred moments.

They feel sacred to me, not because it is Sunday or because no one is around to disturb me but because I allow myself to fully be. What does this have to do with family? This has nothing and everything to do with family. These moments help me feel restored and renewed. I sometimes gain new insight if I decided to journal and other times I am filled up with nothing but the sunshine and my warm cup of tea.

This centers and regrounds me, allowing me to be able to support others and my family for the week. My cup fills and so I come out ready to start a new week. Where are you finding these moments? In your own life, how are you filling your cup back up? Today, I am here to ask you these questions in a calm, loving way without judgment or guilt. Do you know the saying monkey see monkey do? Well, when you have moments of doubt that you will never have these small moments of peaceful presence remember your family can and will adapt. Mindfulness can be taught but it also can be seen and shown without words.

So try something new, tell your family you are doing something different, and ask if they want to join you in there own way. The moment you share with them your idea to create 20-30 minutes of time just for you they may react differently. This may take some time and gentle reminders for both you and them. Soon your children find there own quiet time. They see mom sitting reading a book or dad writing in a journal or grandma sitting outside watching the world go by. They might just grab a book or get out there crayons, or sit next to you. Will they stay the whole time? No, maybe not but you are showing them it is good to take care of yourself. You are teaching them ways to have a healthy relationship with wellness. All by doing not by talking.

When they come up to talk give them a hug, acknowledge them and then remind them you are here right now being present. You can invite them to join you or you can give them options on what they can do. If you find that for your sanity and the preservation of your house you need to put a show on for them to watch, do it! There is no shame in that because, in the end, you are a better person having a full cup then a person running on empty with a smaller fuse who is trying to keep it all together.

So here is your invitation. Pick a time and a day and try it out. If maybe you get up extra early or you stay up a little later to do this. Or maybe you have to build up your stamina of being in the present moment. Start where you and your family are and build up. Behaviors and skills are started at the beginning. You wouldn’t go from sitting on your couch for 12 hours a day to running a marathon the next. No, you start by walking, then jogging, then running and soon you are running a mile with ease. So be gentle with yourself and remember you are allowed to take time for you. Be the hero in your family and ask for what you need it is not selfish and it is serving all. I hope this inspires you to find those present moments. Relax and breathe through it and know it is going to be okay.

Have a beautiful Sunday.

As Miss Frizzle always says, “take chances, make mistakes, and get messy!” or in this case take time, be present, and get relaxing.

Mary-Catherine

As always feel free to tag me in your adventures. I would love to see how these moments of presence look for you. Tag me on Facebook or Instagram @intuitivedesignsmc