I do hope you have all had an enjoyable and relaxing summer. From a Chinese Medicine viewpoint, we are now approaching late summer and certainly out in West Sussex I am noticing the evenings getting shorter, the sunset light is dropping in the sky, the chickens are roosting earlier and the horses are wandering to their night time field earlier in the evening. We will be approaching the Autumn equinox within a few weeks.
Recent events in my life have led me to reflect upon human frailty and our inevitable mortality. In “The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying” it talks about the importance of focusing on our mortality to ensure that we are truly living our lives in the present moment.
None of us know how long our lives will be and we so frequently have our attention elsewhere that we forget to savour and enjoy the present moment, not recognising what the now moment offers us. Focusing on gratitude, acknowledging the blessings in our lives, and practising mindfulness techniques can help us relish our experience of living today. Yes, it’s important to make plans for our future, and to learn lessons from our past, but the present moment is where we live.
Waking up each morning, feeling grateful for the day ahead, looking forward to the experiences we may have and focusing on thankfulness for all the small things that make our day to day living more enjoyable, these are all things that can help us live more happily and contentedly.