Enjoying Your Moments

How many instances in your life have you noticed yourself walking your dog and talking on the phone at the same time? Or listening to your spouse while you’re dreaming of a vacation? Many people who are busy feel an obligation to multi-task. This gives the person the ultimate gift – the gift of time. Multi-tasking is OK periodically, but when performed consistently it leads to a possibility of feeling empty. Why is this? Because by performing more than one task at once, you’re unable to enjoy the moment of those moments. You’re so busy trying to save time that you end up without the quality of the moment or experience.

Let’s concentrate on a simple exercise. Whatever task you plan on tackling next, make sure it’s the only one you do. If you are going to walk your dog, take time to use your senses. Smell the air, feel the breeze, the sun or the rain. Take note on how your muscles are contracting to move your legs. Or, next time someone needs to talk, put down what you’re doing, sit down and look them in the eyes and actually pay attention. You’ll be amazed at how good it will feel and will probably give the person talking some great feelings as well.

Embrace Balance

I believe in balance, do you? Too far on either end of the spectrum is unhealthy. For instance, think of the fad diets that are out – at least they’re around for a while and then we don’t hear about them anymore. Why? They aren’t balanced. They are intended for quick weight loss and aren’t geared toward education in healthy eating and exercise. These diets lean toward all protein or two drinks per day to replace meals. They don’t teach you about how every nutrient is important to our bodies. Eliminating carbohydrates from our menu is not realistic. It can lead to cravings and in some cases depression, if that nutrient is left out of our menu for too long. So the key here is to remember the basics and to balance them out. The basics are our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual sides. The key is to balance them and aim for the long term.

Take Time to Breathe

Do you remember how to breathe? Sounds silly, I know. But watch a baby while they’re sleeping. Notice how a baby’s stomach goes up when they inhale and down when they exhale – that’s normal. Now observe your breathing pattern. Many adults subconsciously end up reversing that pattern which can result in shallow breathing and possibly anxiety.

So, it’s time to try another simple exercise – place your hand on your stomach, making sure your stomach is causing your hand to rise as you are breathing in. It may be difficult at first or it may even seem impossible. But it is natural, so with practice it will become easier. Then as you breathe out, notice your hand lowering. As you continue practicing this, you may notice yourself having an increased feeling of well-being and calmness.

Karen Elly-Trapani can be reached at analysisinmotion@hotmail.com or (248) 495-3182. Visit www.analysisinmotion.net.