You Are Here. [i]
DCL
I was reading something at the Wild Mind Buddhist Meditation website and it struck me how crucial living "in the moment" can be to the green movement. Consider this:
"A lot of the time we are like robots, automatically living out habitual patterns of self-pity, anger, wish fulfillment, fear, etc. These habitual tendencies take us over and run our lives for us
We dwell on and brood over past hurts even though we know we can't go back and change anything. We daydream about fantasy futures and imagined paradise that lie ahead. Meanwhile, life goes on in the present.
Wild Mind offers this as a way to counter such habitual patterns:
"Being in the moment does not mean that we are stuck in the moment. We can mindfully and creatively call to mind past events, or imagine what might happen in the future. We can think about the past and think about how we might have acted differently, or wonder why something happened the way it did. We can think about possible futures, and of how the actions that we commit now will make those futures more or less likely. When we are thinking about the past or future while being in the moment, we are conscious that we are reflecting and we're not lost in thought. We don't confuse fantasy with reality."
WATCH VIDEO: Zen Buddhism
6 Suggestions for Living in the Moment
1.Take notice of the world around you. No matter what you're doing, try to find something beautiful around you
2.Focus on whatever you're doing. Even if you're just walking, or wiping the counter, or shuffling cards
3.Smile when you wake up. You can set the tone of appreciation and awareness for the next 24 hours by simply waking up and smiling.
4.Commit random, spontaneous acts of kindness.
5.Minimize activities that dull your awareness of the moment. What are you doing that tempts your mind to run away from the present?
6.Be thankful for what is. When you find yourself wishing for something you don't have, or wishing your life would be different, start your quest for your wish by being thankful for what is already in your life.
Right Here, Right Now
5 Ways to Live in the Moment (and be Green)
1.Mindfulness
Mindfulness can be defined as "concentrated awareness of one's thoughts, actions or motivations." In greener terms, it might be best described as recognizing and accepting accountability. As Noam Chomsky reminds us, we are "responsible for the predictable consequences of our actions."
2. Independence of Thought and Interdependence of Perspective
Rediscover the subversive pleasure of thinking for yourself while maintaining the awareness of how your choices impact the community as a whole.
3. Keep it Simple
The simple path towards a cleaner, greener planet begins with the simple choice to change how we live and what we allow the biggest polluters to do.
4. Do the Right Thing
Making daily (even hourly) green choices isn't automatically about being present when the current corporate-dominated paradigm shifts (or is shifted). Rather, it's about doing the right thing...here and now.
5. Recognize Urgency
We need a loud eco-alarm clock and we need it now. In fact, we could use a bunch of 'em, tick-tick-ticking in every city and town on the planet to remind us humans that time is of the essence. Our eco-system is finite and there is a point of no return. With this in mind, we could all kick things up a notch or three in terms of urgency and methods.
