The Precious PRESENT

Do you know people who always seem to be happy? Who always seem to have it altogether? Do you know people who leave you feeling good about yourself? What is it that sets them apart from others?

There’s a wonderful book called The Precious Present by Spencer Johnson that I’d encourage you to read NOW! It’s a quick read – maybe 15 minutes – but the message is powerful and can be life changing!

“Only YOU have the power to make you happy. The PRECIOUS PRESENT is called that because it’s the best present of all – it’s a gift that only YOU can give yourself.”

How often do you find yourself regretting things from your past? How many times do you find yourself wishing things were different? How many times do you find yourself projecting into the future a negative because you’re thinking about the past and projecting it into the future to happen again? We ALL do that.

“The present is just that…THE PRESENT! It’s NOT the Past; it’s NOT the Future, but it’s the PRECIOUS PRESENT!

“…the PRESENT moment is always precious. It’s not because it’s absolutely flawless, which it often seems not to be. But because it’s absolutely everything it’s meant to be…at that moment.”

We can spend our time lamenting about all the moments we missed, or why it has taken us so long to figure out something relatively simple, or how much happiness we have lost along the way. That’s the Past. It’s not happening now!

It doesn’t matter if we figure out what living in the PRESENT feels like if we’re young or old. What’s important is that we figure it out and put that mindset into action.

We all tend to think about what went wrong in many moments. We don’t experience what each special moment and place had to offer. We’re either too busy to notice or our mind seems to only focus on what is wrong or what is different than what we think should happen.

We can beat ourselves up with all we have missed, OR we can be observant to see what we’re doing to ourselves. We can get trapped in our guilt about our Past. In the book The Power of Being Thankful, there’s a wonderful entry on April 1^st:

“Satan remembers every tiny thing we have ever done wrong and will do his best to remind us of those things every chance he gets….No person is without making mistakes, and we all feel guilt at times, but when we keep that guilt long after we have been forgiven, it turns into shame….We need to understand and be thankful that God forgives completely – not partially, or almost, but completely! The goodness of God is greater than any bad thing we have ever or could ever do.”

“It is wise for me to think about the Past, and to Learn from my Past. But it is NOT wise for me to be IN the Past. For that is how I Lose myself.”

“It is also wise to think about the Future and to Prepare for my Future. But it is NOT wise for me be IN the Future. For that, too is how I LOSE myself.”

“And when I LOSE myself, I LOSE what is most precious to me.” Only the PRESENT nourishes us.

Those people we enjoy being around the most are the ones that are totally PRESENT when we’re with them. We “feel” their total presence through their eyes, by their questions, by their listening. We “feel” we are THE most important person in their life at that moment. They are fully PRESENT.

“When I feel guilty over my imperfect Past or I am anxious over my uncertain Future, I do NOT live in the PRESENT. Then, I experience pain. I make myself ill. I am unhappy. My Past was the PRESENT. And my Future will be the PRESENT. The PRESENT moment is the only reality I ever experience.”

The PRESENT is what it is. It is PRECIOUS. Even if I don’t know why. It is already just the way it is supposed to be. When I see the PRESENT, accept the PRESENT, and experience the PRESENT, I am well, and I am Happy.

I wish you understanding of how to seek the learning and growing that is our life’s journey and to create a mindset of being in the PRECIOUS PRESENT.

Book Suggestion: The Precious Present by Spencer Johnson

Quote: With God’s help, I’m going to live in the PRESENT, not in the past or in the future. Only YOU have the power to make you happy.