I recently took a trip to the Grand Canyon, where I spent hours clicking pictures of the beauty around me. I listened to the wind whip through the valley, watched water rush around bends, smiled as a raven swooped on the breeze. I took it all in, and at the end of the day as the sun was setting, I put my camera down, sat on a rock and simply watched the sky and rocks change colors. My entire trip to Arizona was filled with minutes and hours like this. I tried to hold on to every moment, to enjoy each new experience to the fullest.

Unfortunately, this isn’t how I normally experience my days. If you’re anything like me, at the end of most days you can barely figure out where the time went or remember what you did with it. I try to be more aware in the midst of my everyday responsibilities, but with so much competing for my time and attention, it’s not easy to stop, take a deep breath and just be in the moment. That doesn’t stop me from trying, though, and with good reason. According to a recent Psychology Today article:

Mindful people are happier, more exuberant, more empathetic, and more secure. They have higher self-esteem and are more accepting of their own weaknesses. Anchoring awareness in the here and now reduces the kinds of impulsivity and reactivity that underlie depression, binge eating, and attention problems. Mindful people can hear negative feedback without feeling threatened. They fight less with their romantic partners and are more accommodating and less defensive. As a result, mindful couples have more satisfying relationships.

Who wouldn’t want to be a happier, more confident person whose relationships are satisfying? Reading that article certainly motivated me to practice being more mindful every day. In the article, there are plenty of tips and examples of how we can adjust our mindsets and our behaviors to become more present in our daily lives. They seem contrary (e.g., “to make the most of time, lose track of it”), but at the same time they make more sense than my typical behaviors (e.g., check the clock every five minutes hoping it’s finally lunch time).

Do you live in the now? Or, like me, are you usually thinking about past or wondering about the future? Let’s practice living in the now. I’m pretty sure the world could use a few more happy, confident, secure people in satisfying relationships.

(Image by G&M)

Ami writes about her attempts to stay healthy, live a local and green life and write that Great American Novel (or something like it) at Writing: My Life.