Ways To Focus on the Moment

No matter what life is handing you, all you have is the moment, the
present. Stay focused on it and in it. Live it to the fullest, live
it in a way that would cause you no regrets if you learned it was to
be your last on earth.

1. Be Still. When life is stressful, hectic, or seemingly
unmanageable, just stop. Be still and take yourself out of the
craziness. Retreat into your inner world for guidance. During these
times, it might be your only opportunity for peace and balance. If
what you seek without or around you cannot be found, find it within.

2. Use Your Senses. The best way to take yourself out of the outer
world that is no longer making sense or working for you, is to
experience life (your life) through your senses. Open your eyes to
the beauty around you, lose yourself in lovely music, exchange words
with positive people in your life, enjoy a sensational feast with
someone or many you care for, and savor the smells and the tastes in
your life. You might even decide to go for broke .... touch someone
and mean it!

3. Keep Being You. Respect the warning to be cautious and aware
during your daily routines, but continue with your plans and goals-
the things that have meaning for you. Work toward them in a way that
does not put you out on a limb or cause undue risk, but don't
abandon them. Having a purpose and goals gives direction to our
lives. Take the steps to realize your goals, perhaps, on the slow
track for now, but just don't let go of them.

4. Extend Yourself. Do more. Be more. Now is the perfect time to get
involved-with your neighbors, the charity you've been researching,
building deeper bonds of friendship, and appreciating the people in
your life fully. When faced with the thought of catastrophe
occurring at any time, panic and fear are only two options. Another
one is to take the focus off of the unthinkable. Focus on
appreciating what is and what could be in your life.

5. Claim a Perspective That Empowers and Enables You. The one you
decide on isn't so important. What matters is that it works for you.
As always, if what you're doing isn't working, try something else-
and fast. If you're sitting at home out of the mix, worrying about
opening your mail or going to work the next day, you need a
different perspective. Adopt a winning one. Your life is always what
you make it during glorious times as well as the challenging ones.
Keep living, and keep striving to be your best you.

6. Keep Going. Feel what you feel-sadness, fear, uncertainty-but
keep moving forward. Go to work, do household chores, visit with
family and friends in person or via telephone or e-mail, take out
the trash, buy that lovely suit that caught your eye, try that new
recipe, extend and accept invitations, drastically change your hair
color or style, or any other option in an endless list of
possibilities. Just keep going and, most importantly, enjoy the
moments.

This is your life. You owe it to yourself to live it. It may seem
different and uncertain now. However, the external changes to our
lives are just that-external. There are entire schools of thought
that speak in-depth on the importance of one's internal life … of
unshakeable serenity, peace, and balance. If you really think about
it, many times our internal (or inner) lives and strengths are all
that matter when the world around us is unsure and changing.

Be yourself and let your inner light shine. I mean, really be
yourself-for some, in a way and fashion you've never dared before.
You have so much more to gain than you could ever lose.