Where are you?
The answer to that question may not just be one place. Our minds are powerful and have the ability to transport us to other places that we need to figure out, memories of something meaningful, or just move us out of our current circumstances. Even though I am sitting here in front of my computer writing these words, my mind easily moves me from my office to so many other places:
I have a meeting in a couple of hours that I should be ready for
Yesterday I was watching a football game with my son
Tomorrow our HVAC guy is coming to look at the furnace; I need to contact him
Are my parents doing okay?
Did I transfer money to the right bank account?
We will be traveling to see family later this week; what will that be like?
Will anyone read this?
I was supposed to take out the trash
And this is just the last 30 seconds. There is one location that eludes me: here in my office in front of my computer.
Many of these are good reminders - it’s incredible that our brains seem to have little alert systems that help us function, but they also keep us from being present in the present. We spend so much time being in other locations that we miss what is happening where we are. Our brains are calmed and restored when we can be fully present in our current location. One common way to do this is to use the senses to ground yourself in a 5-4-3-2-1 way.
What are 5 things you can see? My computer, my books, my lamp, my pen, my picture
What are 4 things you can feel? My desk, my shirt, my chair, my feet on the floor
What are 3 things you can hear? Traffic nearby, birds chirping, the furnace humming
What are 2 things you can smell? My coffee cup nearby, my unlit candle
What is 1 thing you can taste? The lingering flavor of coffee
After doing this, any anxious feelings I had melted away. One object that can work against you being present is your smartphone, transporting you to so many places other than the place that you currently are. An antidote? Pets. A dog or cat will force you to be in the present with them, and you cannot help but gain a more grounded presence when you spend time with your animals.
If you would like a thinking partner to consider more ways that you can stay present for yourself and the people around you, please Contact Us.
