Have you ever catch yourself smiling alone reminiscing the past? Or feeling sad or down due to some event in the past? I'm sure everyone of us has experienced that once in a while. Sometimes you get drifted away from your present, that you missed out what is going on around you. The story you have just read, the tv program you have just watch before, the chat you had with your friends recently, they just come and go without warning or without you realizing it.
How does these memories and pictures of the past affects your daily life? A playback of a scene in an entertaining comedy you have just watch earlier might change your mood to happier mood, while a sad or a mystery story might leave you feeling sad or confused. But one thing for sure, it took you away from your present moment. One sign is, you suddenly can't remember what you have done and what you have not done. If you are sitting with a group of people, you seem to have lost connection even if you are physically there. Your time just passed by without you realizing it. And worse it eats up your energy, when you keep on repeating doing the same thing without realizing it. You seem to have lost your senses. You're watching the tv in front of you but you did not see it. You are listening to a conversation but you didn't hear what they are talking about. You're eating your food but you doesn't taste it. You're washing the dishes, but you didn't feel the water flowing or the stickiness or the oily sense on the surface of the plates. You're sitting in a park surrounded by plants and flowers but you just couldn't smell the freshness and fragrance of the flowers and plants around you. What a waste of time and energy!
If the program you're watching is from a video player you might rewind the player, when suddenly you find you have lost track of the story. If you are listening to the conversation of your friends, you might suddenly popped out a stupid or irrelevant question to them, ending up being laughed at. If the food you're eating was tasty, everyone else praises how tasty the food was, except you because you forgot to taste it. It just went through your throat without you realizing it. You might have completed your dish washing, but to your amazed, there are still food sticking on the dishes here and there. You might end up washing them again. If the park you were sitting in was beautiful, then it's too bad you didn't have the chance to enjoy and appreciate it.
What has passed, is past and gone. Be aware of what you have in your mind. Stop your thinking if what your have in your mind is the past. Don't let it decays in your mind, even though it is a sweet moment that's refreshing, it will get rotten in your mind if you keep on playing it. Just stop it there and then, when you catch yourself reminiscing. Clear your mind and enjoy your five senses in the presence of your soul. Refresh your mind with moment to moment experience.
