A couple of days ago my family and I went to the beach. It was a rather crowded beach, but we found a spot right at the water, the Mediterranean Sea. It didn’t take long and my sons were in the water. They were playing in the waves and had a lot of fun. They didn’t pay any attention to where they were drifting.
I watched them with amazement. They were absolutely in the moment, totally enjoying themselves. They were only focused on jumping, splashing, riding the waves and having fun.
Of course they had no idea where we were when they realised that they had drifted away. (No worries, I waved them back safely.)
I asked myself when do I ever live in the moment like that? Without any worry, anxiety or the feeling of having to do something else? Just innocent, relaxed and enjoying the now?
When I was younger I often got lost in mathematics. I would sit there for hours on my desk and calculate and work on math problems. I loved this feeling of boiling something complicated down to somethings simple, a result, something that was easy to understand and totally clear. I still like the feeling of clarity.
I remember being in that zone when playing a tennis match, where everything outside would just disappear and only my opponent and I would be in focus and not even really my opponent, but her action. I would read her body language and anticipate what kind of ball she would play next and in what direction. Trying to not miss a move and at the same time doing my best to play her out.
And now as an adult?
There are not many. I need to remind myself to let go and really only focus on one thing all the time. When I play with my children and want to give them my full attention, I usually have to give myself permission for a period of time to not worry about anything else that needs to get done. I love to read to my kids and I do get into a zone when reading Harry Potter 😉
The easiest to manage for me is probably when I give a coaching. I am all in with my client. I get into this zone when I only focus on my client and her wishes, goals, emotions that come up in our conversation. It feels so good to me when I can immerse myself into deep conversation and give my client my undivided attention. At the same time it’s a great gift for her to be given this loving space to expand and work through things. It’s a win win situation.
The third moment I can think of, which is so important is when I am intimate with my husband. I’m sure that many can relate, it’s so hard to really let go and relax and open your heart during sex when the monkey mind is going crazy. And without surrendering to your partner in this situation, there is no way that sex can be satisfying. I’ve struggled with this for a long time. It’s hard to turn off everything going on in your head and focus on your heart, but it’s so worth it.
Seeing my kids play in the water was a good reminder to live more in the moment. I think every minute of the day should be enjoyed with the whole body and mind. Every minute is worth it to be focused on and at the end of a day I want to remember every moment. In my mind the more conscious moments we live during the day, the more full-filled we feel when we go to sleep at night.
I am curious, are you aware of the these ‘in the zone’ moments in your life? Would you like to create more of them? A good way is to schedule them in your calendar. And I can say that since I started doing daily meditations, my mind has calmed down. I feel like I am less reactive and often take my time to decide what thoughts are worth thinking and worrying about and which aren’t. This way I can decide what I want to focus on and mostly that’s the Now.
I wish you an exciting and full-filled day!
With love and gratitude, Annika <3
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