I was reflecting the other day that we should have been on holiday in Cornwall right now. My thoughts started to canter…
If we were there, having walked along the beautiful sunny (as it is sunny today) coastline during the morning, we would be stopping for coffee and scone with homemade strawberry jam from Kernow. Likely, we would have gone somewhere for a bit of lunch in the outdoor, in the shade and then out to Padstow harbour in the afternoon, for the pasties and the toffee to take home, to have the homemade ice-cream amongst the usual hustle and bustle of the Harbour, and watch the passers-by, visited the art galleries and the shops. Although you can never tell in Cornwall, with a brilliantly sunny day like this, we would have definitely explored the coastline, as we have done so many times, marvelled at the breeze, colours of the deep sea, the milieu of colours of the Cornish flora and watched the seagulls flying, hovering suspended in mid-air and then diving down towards the sea and rocks, only to be brought back to reality but the undisciplined dog, Max, as he would venture right to the edge of the cliffs!
And then, the realisation that instead I am here, in Surrey, at home.
But then I thought: what is the point of this? What is the point of wishing being somewhere else, where we clearly cannot go, probably for some time? The wish and the memories of past holidays …clearly not a good combination to lift up the spirit.
And then I reminded myself of what we say during the yoga practice: being present, being in the here and now. Well, I certainly am not following this, right now.
Why do we look back? Why do we tend to worry about the future or dream about something that may never happen? How can we find contentment in the present circumstances? In the here and now?
If we love gardening, nurture plants so that they grow. If we love painting or drawing, pick up the pencil, paints, boards and draw, anything. If we love writing, start journaling. If we love reading, how many books remain unread on the shelves?
Whatever we do right now, we can do it mindfully, being completely in the moment, and bringing total awareness of what we are doing. No dreaming, no looking back… simply being in the now, mindfully.
So, can we:
Make peace with the past
Be content in the present…
And leave the future ... well, ..for tomorrow really?