Last update: May 10, 2015
Have you ever wondered how many days of your life did you really enjoy from start to finish? Would you like every day to be like Christmas or like your birthday? Would you like joy to never fail in your days? Often we have happiness in front of our eyes and we do not notice it: in this article we reveal how to discover it day after day.
Very often our days pass automatically: we wake up, take a shower, then breakfast, go to work, come back, have dinner and sleep. Because of this it happens to arrive in the evening with a sense of emptiness inside. We become apathetic, like robots, and when we go to sleep we realize that another day has passed and we are not satisfied with our life. If you think that one day nothing changes, you are wrong: it is not simply "a day", it is a "today“, A possibility that has been granted to you. Life has allowed you to live that extra day: it is a gift, it is all you have, here and now. And the only way to show your gratitude is to enjoy that gift and live it to the fullest.
Our mind wastes about 70% of its time reproducing memories and searching for "perfect moments", while only 30% of the time we really focus on here I'm. And the problem is not that the time we dedicate to the present is so small, but that there are many people who can't even really live it. We always think: "I will be happy when I finally retire", "when I manage to reach my goals I will feel satisfied", "I can't wait to have some free time to relax, at that point I will be happy". Many people trap their happiness, and in this way they keep putting it off. We must never think that happiness is a goal to be achieved: the truth is that it can very well be present throughout our journey. Happiness as a goal lasts only a few minutes and runs out quickly while the happiness of travel lasts for a lifetime.
The secret to achieving it is to open your eyes and learn to see everything that happens in our present, in the now. Do you think that nothing interesting or positive ever happens to you? This is not true at all, because there is no moment like the previous one. Take a good look and you will realize that each day is unique, new and special. Nothing in life repeats itself, so you shouldn't worry about past mistakes or future uncertainties: these moments don't exist, and the only thing we're sure about is our present.
There is no past, no future
The only thing we are sure of is the day we are living now. Learn to pay attention to what you do, instant after instant. Enjoy it, live your days in a conscious, awake and attentive way. Give due importance to the great gift that has been given to you and learn to live each day as if it were the first and last of your life.
Here are four activities that will help you learn to marvel at the present:
• Start by opening your eyes and trying to experience the wonder for everything you see, for every color that surrounds you and is only there for you to appreciate. Look at the sky, it is done too infrequently. Watch it and marvel at the way it changes. We usually think of the weather classifying it as "beautiful" or "ugly", but every day we live immersed in different atmospheric conditions, which never repeat themselves in the same way. Look at the clouds: you will never see others that are perfectly alike.
• Go to the park or some other outdoor place you like. Turn off your cell phone, sit comfortably and try to feel the air around you. How? Cold, hot, lukewarm? Pay attention to every smell you perceive, listen to every sound near you, look around and think about how you feel.
• Take a nice relaxing bath, take great care. Imagine that you have just come into the world and that this is the first time you have taken a bath: feel the moisture on your skin, the smell of soap, the temperature of the water, the sound it makes when it flows, everything. Take advantage of this to relax and disconnect from everything, focusing on yourself.
• Look into the eyes of the people you know: each of them is unique, has a unique life and, in the midst of millions of people, has crossed your path. Open your heart and learn to always appreciate those around you, even if only through a smile or a kind greeting.
In moments of relaxation, getting lost in thoughts that have nothing to do with the present is perfectly normal: don't worry, draw attention and focus it on your breathing, on what surrounds you and how you feel. Stay focused as long as possible, enjoy that moment and, above all, smile. Remember that, in some corner of the world, someone is struggling right now to have everything that you already have. Be grateful for the gifts life has given you and enjoy them today, open your heart to all those blessings and let happiness flow through your life.. The simple fact of being able to see, smile, touch, run… The simple fact of being alive makes this day the best of your life.
