How to Live in the Now

“Gratitude can change our world in immensely important ways. Because, if you are grateful, then you are not fearful. If you are not fearful, then you are not violent. If you are grateful, then you act out of a sense of enough and not a sense of scarcity,” said Brother David Steindl-Rast, author and Benedictine monk.

This revelation can turn the restless content and the greedy grateful. This revolution can soften hardened hearts and clean up the acts of those who only want more for themselves. By saying “thanks” in a meaningful and genuine way, you can revolutionize your personal world. One person’s small act of goodness repeated over and over can multiply into a lifestyle which affects many others.

This awakening has started. People are beginning to wipe the sleep from their eyes and recognize how good life is today and how much better in can be in the future. Let your soul come alive with appreciation.

There is an alarm clock of awakening sounding! Please don’t hit the snooze button. Read the chapters about faith, science, and self-love. Lean into the stories about how to be thankful in the worst of times. Alter your lifestyle with the one-of-a-kind Thirty-One Days of Gratitude Challenge. Take advantage of and use the interactive journal.

There’s more application here than merely information. That’s a good thing. The internet and libraries are full of information. We need to use what we have already learned and implement it. This is your call to appreciation action.

I know the easiest way to have an awakening to goodness is by living in the NOW. This is how you can experience every single moment in a state of appreciation, regardless of your circumstances. I really believe the most helpful way to have a shift into abundance is to have awareness of the NOW. Too often, we drift by in our world like it’s on auto-pilot. We do the same thing day in and day out in the same way without any consideration of meaning or purpose. That’s how you drove around town yesterday or how you made your coffee this morning. Right? You didn’t have to think about every nuance of driving a vehicle or how to brew the best java. You just did what you normally do. That’s being on auto-pilot.

You were on automatic when you brushed your teeth without considering which direction to push the brush. Do you remember each movement of your flossing or dental hygiene yesterday? Of course not, because it was done on auto-pilot. This boring existence isn’t life as it was meant to be lived. Even during mundane tasks, we shouldn’t be zoning out into boredom. What we need is to be auto-corrected.

You can’t be thankful for everything, but you can be thankful in everything.

Your auto-correction will be living in the NOW. What this means is having an awareness of the moment, the surroundings, and your overall desires. The word NOW is a perfect way to activate appreciation. You’ll learn the deeper distinctions of thankfulness in the chapters to come, but for NOW, let’s look at the concept of NOW to get started.

NOW is an acronym with a unique meaning for us:

N is for Near: this tells us to live in the exact moment by being mindful of what is near you. Be present. Think about what is surrounding you. Don’t stress over what you don’t have. Don’t focus on what could happen. Look around and be thankful for what is near now. It could be the birds in the trees, the computer you are using, the clothes on your body, or the person you met for lunch. Simply be appreciative for what is near.

O is for Oblivious: We can look at what’s near and still miss people, places, and things to which we’re oblivious. Don’t be unaware to your surroundings, your safety, or your senses. There is so much we take for granted. A simple quick moment to pause and reflect on what you may be oblivious toward will lead you to be thankful for things like the oxygen we’re breathing or the food we’re about to eat. Indeed, pausing to simply focus on your breathing during the day or to say “thanks” at meal time are two good ways to be aware of the oblivious and stay in the NOW.

W is for Wishes: Always be grateful for what you have presently and what you really wish for. Making a wish isn’t only for children when they see a star or when they blow out the candles on their birthday cake. Instead, it’s healthy to dream, to have goals, and to wish as if things have already happened. Knowing what you want and being thankful in advance will help you see your wishes become fulfilled. As you know what you want and then are thankful before it happens, you will often see your WISHES fulfilled.

Living in the NOW—the NEAR, the OBLIVIOUS, and the WISHFUL—is a direct way to tap into the power of gratitude. It makes thankfulness an easy lifestyle and not merely a practice.

“When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around,” said singer Willie Nelson. It’s normal for people to change behavior for a short period of time, like when making a New Year’s resolution or deciding not to eat desserts anymore. These behavioral modifications are practices which often fall short. Your daily consciousness of being in the NOW is less about practicing thankfulness and more about being in a specific state of mind or mindset. What I mean by this is to pay attention to your emotions and your thoughts. Replace negative or anxious thinking with gratitude. As you are aware of the blessings in your life you can have a state of gratefulness. Your life will benefit tremendously as you focus on the positive and are thankful for what is NEAR, OBLIVIOUS, and WISHFUL.

So, to end with a few more clichés… keep your chin up, your fingers crossed, kick up your heels, and let this work like clockwork.

Your challenge is to go for it.

Live in the NOW.

The appreciation awakening you’re about to have is a new state, or possibly even a soul shift. It’s a deep transformation of awareness to be in the NOW at all times. This simple act of mindfulness will help you wake from your selfish hibernation. Your soul will come alive and your world can be so much better.

by Daniel Rendelman