Rosemary’s Homework

cereal bowlRosemary had set me some homework and I had two weeks to accomplish it. There was only one task. It sounded simple enough, and that was to – Live in the now.

 I am a very determined person when I want to be and this, I thought, couldn’t be too difficult, all I had to do was put my mind to it.

 The first day I was very keen and I gave myself some tools to help me achieve the desired outcome. They were as follows:-

  •   Correcting my posture. Standing tall, head held high makes a difference to how you feel – getting you out of your head and into your body.
  •  Being conscious of how I breathed. By taking big deep abdominal breaths it connects you to your heart, giving you that wonderful euphoric feeling of being in love.
  •  Doing something I enjoyed – skiing, drawing, writing, talking to a friend, it doesn’t matter what as long as you enjoy it.
  •  Doing one thing at a time. I am one of those people who loves to multi-task, but by doing one thing at a time and giving it all your concentration, it doesn’t matter what it is, you somehow seem to enjoy it more.
  •  Slowing down. Rushing around makes me feel good as it gives me a sense of accomplishment – look at how much I achieved today. By slowing down you become more perceptive and actually get more done.
  •  Being aware and using all my senses. Truly looking at a tree and seeing how magnificent they are or appreciating the taste of how good an apple really tastes or feeling the wind against your face. The senses are there to help you to bring you to where you are, in the here and now.

 I was wrong about it not being difficult. I found it an extremely hard exercise to do. The mind seems to want to be in control and all it wants to do is think. Think, think, think and when I had run out of things to think of I would go back to the very first thoughts, and start all over again. I often caught myself doing this, and thinking….I have already

thought this thought a hundred times today, why am I thinking it again? Which got me thinking some more.

 My thoughts were too strong, and to my mind I had not satisfactorily completed the homework set to me. I just couldn’t do it. The two weeks were almost up and all I could manage were fleeting moments of being present, but I could not retain it. I had to admit defeat, that simple task was not as simple as I thought. Sorry Rosemary, but please give me easier homework next time. 

The last day of the two weeks I woke up and somehow I felt different. I slowly got out of bed appreciating how comfortable and soft it was. I consciously walked out to the kitchen where my breakfast awaited me. I lifted the spoon up and tasted the most delicious meal I had tasted in a long while. Banana porridge with stewed apple is something I eat every morning but this day it tasted unbelievably good! 

My husband and children watched me as I savoured the taste of my breakfast with closed eyes, making euphoric noises, and they were concerned, but as I continued on in this blissful state through the whole bowl of porridge without opening my eyes once or acknowledging them in any way, they became extremely worried. Eyes were darting from me to each other, and then back again to me – what was wrong with Mum.

After breakfast it was time for the shower, the warm water against my skin felt great, again I just closed my eyes and savoured it.

 If you asked your lover to slowly massage your moisturizer onto your face, you would enjoy the feeling of his hand as it touched your skin. But why don’t we enjoy the same feeling when we do it ourselves. Because we don’t consciously feel it, we are on automatic pilot as we roughly dab it on and rub it in. Putting on my moisturizer that morning felt soft and nurturing.

After getting dressed I was quickly and abruptly taken out of my ‘living in the now’ state as we were in a great rush to get going. Time was, according to the family, running out and we HAD to hurry! And that was the end of it.

I haven’t been able to reach that state since, but I am certainly going to try some more. It made me realize that there are so many wasted moment by not appreciating the simple thing that surrounds us, each minute of the day.

 Thanks Rosemary.

From: A wonderful student who was in my course – ‘Mastery of the Mind.’ The gift to her was the realisation that to be present and in the now takes heaps of practice. Probably a lifetime.

 

Tagged , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Comments are closed.