Are you fully living?

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

This is a screenshot from a video I shot at the park of Olivia and her best friend. The video is 00:07:37 minutes long and there are three more just like it. In others, the girls twirl up tight on the swings and then spin around in a fit of giggles. They played for over two hours. Most of the time we were the only ones in the park. This sweet moment was 00:05:53 into the film. 

I have watched this video a handful of times now. To be honest, it's pretty meditative and I've been playing it in the background as I work. The girls, their laughter, the creaky sound of the metal swings, their friendship, conversation, and you can almost hear the soft sun shining through. I often wonder how magic happens and how much of the time it doesn't, or it does, but I miss it. What makes some moments come alive, I think about this a lot. I need to. These moments, strung together, are the whole of life. 

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How to live, fully.


• Question life. Questions are catalysts for change. They open up the world, challenge us, make us think and grow. 

• Cause wonder. Create moments of awe. Asking a question causes wonder. So does stargazing or watching kids swing. Try it. 

• Don't answer. Live the questions. Let the answers find you. The asking distills what's important, then the answers rise to the top. Scoop them up.

• Lose your balance. Life is moving, let go and embrace change. Even better, seek it. Nothing makes us feel more alive than a change on the horizon. 

• Stand at the center. At the center of all movement there is stillness. Position yourself there. Chaos is always better from this vantage point. 

• Live in-between. It's called liminality. Let go of your stance, don't get stuck being defined. Open up, embrace not knowing.

• Be patient. Everything ripens in it's own time. Cease the moment, but believe in eternity. 

• Be present. Dive into now. Have a look around.

• Find acceptance. This is really the key to everything in life. To being at peace with yourself, to being present in the moment, you must find this. Dig deep. 

• Practice gratitude. Say thank you, everyday.


Do you have those moments when time melts away and you're perfectly content exactly where you are now? Want to have more of these moments? Me too. Let's figure out how! Share your tips.

Here's to fully living your week. xx

9 comments:

  1. so many of these thoughts on my mind today. I have such a heavy heart. I'm trying to work on a blog post and getting mildly enraged at some of the "business as usual" shopping and style posts popping right back up on favorite blogs. I think patience and presence are the two things I'm working on right now. One thing I did notice is that being around the kids forces me into the moment- last night, there was no place for endless news cycles or social media updates, only dinner with the kids, homework, bath, their usual silly conversations. It definitely helped bring me back to a better state of mind.

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    1. The kids are really a godsend in moments like this. Life has to go on and they are always living in the moment, so it is a good reminder. I think I am going to tape a note that says "patience and presence" in my bathroom, I am working on these too.

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  3. i do have those moments. magical moments when time stands still. an overwhelming feeling of peace.

    ...sometimes when i'm with others, sometimes alone... sometimes when i'm doing something uplifting/inspiring (reading/creating/relaxing...), sometimes when i'm doing the mundane (driving, making my bed...).

    ...when i'm at peace with myself/with 'what is', but at the same time when i am actively/intentionally creating a *space for peace {not in a state of comparison, of frustration, of guilt, ...of obsessing about the past- or the future (what could have been/what should be)... not when i am living my moments/days/life out of obligation...}

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    1. totally agree. and thank goodness for moments of magic because they are the gems that remind us of what living really is.

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  4. i love each and every one of these. when i do live fully, is when i feel most alive. some are harder than others but all bring a sort of awareness that makes it all worth it.

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    1. They are hard, especially in those challenging moments. Maybe picking one a month to focus on would be a good practice. As I said to Erin, I think patience and presence, are mine right now.

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  5. Beautiful thoughts. I have these moments, and often I'm grateful to acknowledge. Expressing gratitude has definitely been one thing that has influenced my ability to see these moments as they're happening. And having my blog enables this. Stepping out of routines is another, although I have also been able to find peace and even meditation in some of life's more boring routines. I can think differently about putting the dishes away or making a bed.

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    1. Thanks Mary, these are such good thoughts. A conscious practice of gratitude is something that I hear people talk about consistently as being the most life changing. It is not something that I have ever been able to follow through on. I have attempted gratitude journals and jars, etc. but nothing has stuck. I agree that a blog can be that. I think you are focusing on the beauty you have in your life, what is good. It does help me appreciate it. Have you read Thich Nhat Hanh's meditation on washing dishes? It is something that has hung by my kitchen sink for years. I think finding peace in the mundane is really where it's at!

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