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I made a page similar to this one a few years ago…and in December….and have spent several years “practicing” keeping this very important idea in mind….
“right now is the time that we have….right in this very moment….”
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There may be conditions, interactions or circumstances that feel good to us right now, in which case a sense or feeling of happiness naturally arises….
Or there may be conditions or circumstances that we don’t like…ones that we perhaps resist, develop tension about…think about…and, at times, get preoccupied about….and those typically lead to some type of self generated feeling of “unhappiness”…which certainly doesn’t feel good and is not of benefit to ourselves or others around us.
But for us to remember that it isn’t those actual conditions, circumstances or interactions that lead to a sense of “less happy”…..it’s our own reactions…often repetitive reaction patterns… and resistance, within us, that generates that feeling….
To learn to notice when the beginnings of that resistance are being felt, to learn to let that sense of resistance go….to practice noticing and remembering that…over and over again…practicing, practicing, practicing….to keep reminding ourselves of that dynamic.
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And so…
to learn to let each moment be….
to come back to the “now”
to learn to recognize and focus on the positive in each moment,
to develop more perspective
and to learn to relinquish when negative seems to appear
to learn to let the ideas about the past be left in the past…
to not bring those completed past moments into this present moment…
and to not project the imagined, unknown future onto the “now”
to not superimposed imagined ideas about the future
onto this present moment of “now”
to realize that whatever time we do have is very very precious…
to learn to stop resisting,
to appreciate the goodness in each moment…
to appreciate the underlying goodness in all of us,
to shift perspective….
to not think…. “oh, next week…next month….next year”…
none of us know whether we’ll have that…
and even if we do have that “bonus” time,
why waste this precious time of the “now” ?
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and so to reflect on,
to ponder this idea,
to deeply understand and realize…
happiness feels good…
it’s supported by letting go of negative patterns
and noticing and appreciating the positives…
that sense of natural happiness benefits each one of us….
but equally important,
it benefits our interactions with our family and friends
it benefits everyone we interact with each day…
to keep those strong benefits in mind
and to learn to live in the appreciation, acceptance and happiness
in each moment of “now.”
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“the time to be happy is now….if not now, then when?”
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Link to December post: “The time to be happy is….now….”… this seems to be a recurring idea that I keep reminding myself about….I actually completely forgot that I had made that December post…I think I’m looking at the ideas today from an “overall” perspective… as more of an ongoing “life practice,” not related to a specific situation, as I might have been doing in the December post…but it still contains the essence of … building on and increasing the positives, practicing decreasing the negatives…and to recognize the underlying goodness in just “being”in each moment of “now.”
Pocket Perspectives 
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The time to be happy IS now. The time to radiate that happiness to all around us is NOW! Wonderfully strengthening post today. Thank you for it. Bless you for your committment to lead us ever onward into more and more light.
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Thanks… and as far as my own commitment goes…I am committed, but definitely am stumbling and bumbling along in this journey…but, I try to keep in my mind….. “slowly, slowly…”…and to develop patience, perspective and persistence as I go… thank you for your kind words… : )
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I have to say that sometimes in life that can be a little difficult (e.g. my case), but I agree with the overalll concept totally. No, a new car won’t bring us happiness. Nor will a bigger house. Comfort and convenience, certainly. We are happy because we have each other. The rest won’t change that!
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Hi Robin….you’re in the midst of a few potentially challenging “unknowns”….I find that place of “uncertainty” such a hard place to be. I agree with you though….reconnecting with the love and kindness among family and friends is the place to try to go back to…but sometimes difficult in the midst of things. I think that keeping this perspective is challenging for many of us…myself included…and hence this post. You’re in my thoughts and I’m wishing you well. : )
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such a well written reminder to all of us. Thank you.
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Hi Joss…you’re very welcome…and thank you Joss… I wonder why this seems, at times, to be so challenging to learn/live???….maybe breaking repetitive patterns of the mind? I wonder if it’s easier for younger people to change these habits? I hope so…. Of course, we’re all younger than somebody else, so just to get busy and keep learning, I guess?
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Here, Now . . . what else is there?
Good thoughts, Kathy.
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For the past few weeks I’ve been reading and listening to “The Power of Now”….(over and over again)…I can’t believe I’ve never read it before…I had it on the bookshelf, but never read it. I’m gaining so much more perspective and understanding about letting go of past and future and coming back to the moment.
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Beautifully stated, and so true. It is a shame that we all have to remind ourselves of these words, but thanks for the beautiful reminder. Blessings, Connie
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Thank you Connie…isn’t it odd that it can be difficult to live these ideas in everyday life? I seem to need ongoing reminders…and so I add them here. Warm smiles back to you, Kathy ps…Connie, your own post today was so special…I was telling my husband about it this evening….thank you so much for your inspirational words and ideas in that post…it’s was beautiful. (to others who many not have seen Connie’s post today…here’s a link to it http://ahopefortoday.com/2012/01/21/a-hope-for-guidance/ )
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What a wonderful post and so love the colors used..
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Thanks Roberta….and the colors??…those are those gentle blue colors that were in a photo of yours…one I commented on…and, as I recall, you had the sides of your blog in that light blue too…it was so gentle and soothing…If you see this comment and know the photo I’m referring to, might you add a link to it here? thanks, Kathy
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In the present is where our power lies… happy now is preferred! 😉
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Happy now sure is preferred….by far…
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Kath–good advice/tips. We can all learn by this to lead better lives. Why do people make things so difficult–life isn’t that hard . . .
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Thank you….what you wrote is so true…life really isn’t that hard…it’s me wanting it to be only a certain way that, at times, makes it hard. There was a wonderful post, linked in Connie’s comment below, about accepting that each new type of experience involves learning…so to accept that…thanks for your ideas…I learn so much from people’s comments… : ) (oh, I’ll add the link to Connie’s post… such an important idea to keep in mind http://ahopefortoday.com/2012/01/21/a-hope-for-guidance/ )
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Kathy, Wonderful reflections and a good reminder to stay in the now and be happy. The mind is such a useful tool but also one that hurt us if we let it run away to the past and project fears into the future. I love Eckhart Tolle and watched for 8 days the webcast “A New Earth” which Oprah has in her site with Eckhart; to me it was a sacred time. I also have Google’s widget of daily Tolle quotes in my google home page.
Off to staying in the NOW and be happy. 🙂
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Thanks Marie… that is such a helpful awareness to realize that bringing the perceived past into the present, makes that part of the moment of “now”, and why do such a thing?? The same goes for an imagined future, which is really just imagined in the “now” so becomes the now…..not sensible either….so I’m learning that from those writings…so helpful. Do you know if that webcast is still available?
And Marie, just before I read this… I was just cutting out an extra window hanger for you…the living with abundance one…with your words on it…it’s pretty… : )
This morning, I’m sorting through the window hangers, getting them into envelopes for different people and addressing them…I had to come to terms with: “well, my oval cutting is a bit crooked, the colors might not be quite right…etc. etc. etc….”…oh the rambling mind….but good lessons learned from watching that thinking..so that’s good. And I’m so happy to think others might gain some value from them, too.
So….me too…off to staying in the now…and being happy…. : )
(and I keep linking a wonderful post…to Connie’s blog… an important reminder to let go of judging etc and to accept that we’re all learning… http://ahopefortoday.com/2012/01/21/a-hope-for-guidance/ )
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The time to be happy is indeed now…all we have to do is claim it…then live each say with the most beautiful memories that we can possible have….
this made me smile and hope… “right now is the time that we have….right in this very moment….”
Thank you. Hope you like the “HUG” award…
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Yes, the time is now…I do try to keep in mind that there are usually fluctuations….ups and downs of varying degree…..due to changing situations, conditions and interactions…but to try as much as I can to stay on an even keel….steady and calm….accepting those fluctuations as they happen….wishing you well…I think I’ve seen in your blog that you’ve had a few challenging fluctuations recently and I’m hoping that steady and calm will return to you soon…please be well….
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