Healthy+5Winterspring2024spreadsfinal - Flipbook - Page 18
Present Moment Living
How to focus on the here and now—
and stop worrying about the past and future
H
ow often do you find yourself distracted thinking
about things that happened yesterday—or
even longer ago—and what’s going to happen
tomorrow? It could be in the middle of an important work
meeting, over coffee with a friend, or at dinner with your
family. You’re there, but you’re not present.
“Daily living is fraught with so many distractions and so
many things to do,” says Billie Lynn Allard, MS, RN, FAAN,
Co-Founder/Co-Program Director of the Association
of Chronic and Complex Care Nurse Navigation, “It’s
sometimes hard to turn off the continuous loop of
messages in your head reminding you of what you need to
do, what maybe you didn’t do so well yesterday, who needs
your help next, and, you know, SQUIRREL!” She continues,
“Apart from being mentally exhausting, this inability to
be present in the moment takes a very real toll on the
quality of our lives. It impacts our ability to meaningfully
connect with others, the quality of our sleep, it contributes
to anxiety and depression and, really, just makes life less
enjoyable.”
Finding a path to a more peaceful and present
state of being
For Allard, her breaking point—and the “ah-ha!” moment—
came when, as a very busy working mother of three who
was also tending to her aging parents and earning her
master’s at night, her four-year-old daughter called her out
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16 | HEALTHY+ | WINTER–SPRING 2024
for not actively listening to her.
“That was a humbling yet clarifying moment,” says
Allard. “I knew that I could, and had to, do better.”
The experience inspired Allard to explore the practice of
being mindful. Today, she not only practices what she calls
“present moment living” in her daily life, she also lectures
on the subject across the country.
“Becoming mindful isn’t difficult but it is a conscious
decision you have to make repeatedly throughout the day,”
she says. She encourages newcomers to the concept to
begin by trying a simple mindfulness exercise. Wherever
you are reading this, do the following:
• Close your eyes
• Relax your muscles into the chair
• Take slow deep breaths, feeling the air move in and out
of your body
Resist the urge to race through the exercise and instead,
slow down and focus on your breath. Continue to breathe
in and out until you feel a lifting of emotional weight and a
lightness within you.
Other practices Allard regularly engages in to reinforce
present moment living include:
• Recognize the value of every moment afforded you;
just because you put your shoes on this morning
doesn’t mean you’ll get to take them off tonight. Make
a point to appreciate the minutes and hours of every
day regardless of how you spend them.
• Savor every bite of food and drink: to reinforce this
concept, try chewing a raisin for ten minutes. Really
appreciate the evolving flavor and texture and how
your mouth and mind respond to every sensation.
• Make the most of every interaction you have, no
matter with whom you have it. Put away your phone
when you’re in the presence of others. Look directly
at others when they are speaking to you. Try to listen
more than you speak.