Fred Cavaiani
It is difficult to slow down. We worry about so much. Self image and self importance preoccupy our thoughts. What is your opinion about me? The need to plan the next moment becomes powerful. The anxiety over the last moment hangs on. The present moment becomes a superficial distraction. What happened in the past and what will happen in the future has so much power. Internal freedom seems lost. Our minds and hearts can be in a prison of the past or a prison of concern about the future.
Focus right at this moment on what you are doing. Read this article very slowly and experience each word and thought. Look around you and focus attentively on whatever you observe.
Embrace this present moment with absolute attentiveness. Just stay in this moment with deliberate focus.
Absolute attention to the present moment causes the body to relax and slow down. It allows the prison bars of our minds and hearts to fall down. We begin to experience joy. Peace seems to flow into us from this single attentive moment. It doesn’t cost any money. The worries fade away. Wisdom begins to flow into our minds. Our hearts experience peace. We give up observing
where we are going. We forget where we have been. The future doesn’t imprison us. We are simply experiencing the joy of the present moment.
In the stillness of this present moment we become fully alive. Nothing else matters. And yet everything that is truly important is right in front of us. We have embraced an experience of love. Peace really does seem to be ‘flowing like a river’. Joy is now possible. Life takes place in this present moment of focus and attentiveness. It is so easy and yet it is so frightening. I have to give up my plans and I must let go of my ego. I must become open to receiving what is coming toward me. It is right here in this present experience of life.
The joy of the present moment is possible for everyone. I simply have to embrace it right now. Life is genuinely lived only in absolute attention to the present. In this moment I become fully alive. To live in the now is a gift…a present. It is a joy. Pain or comfort, sorrow or joy — it makes no difference. Embracing everything in this moment becomes an experience of profound peace and joy.
The greatest anxiety comes when I fight against embracing this moment. It is so simple, yet so difficult to be simple and humble in my embrace of slowing down and paying close attention to this moment. Joy is at my finger-tips. Love and hope are right here before me –in this very moment. I need to give up the rush to the next moment. I must let go of the pondering over the past. I will simply experience the now and everything will open up to me for the good.
I want joy in my life. I want peace. I want comfort. The attentive focus on this moment will bring this to me. The simplicity of this moment needs to be embraced. It is a privilege to become fully alive in the present moment.
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Fred Cavaiani is a licensed marriage and family therapist and psychologist with a private practice in Troy. He is the founder of Marriage Growth Center, a consultant for the Detroit Medical Center, and Henry Ford Medical Center. He conducts numerous programs for groups throughout Southeastern Michigan . His column in the Legal News runs every other Tuesday. He can be reached at (248)362-3340. His e-mail address is Fredcavi@yahoo.com and his website is fredthecounselor.com.
