Where Are You Living?

Over the past years, I have become much better at allowing myself to feel. I still have a long way to go but I have also come a long way.

I've never been one to show much emotion.

I've realized that's because I'm often living in the past or the future.

If I'm living in the past it's typically because I'm replaying something in my head and pondering what I could have done better. Perhaps I said the "wrong" thing or should have said "something". Perhaps I did something that was interpreted wrongly. Perhaps I did everything perfectly and I'm just making up stories in my head...

If I'm living in the future I'm either worrying about something that has not happened yet or thinking about things I need to get done.

In either case, both the past and the future are not real. They are only in my imagination.

Yes, the past may have happened but it's not real anymore.

And the future will never be here.

The only thing that is real is the present.

I can't change the past and I can't control the future. The only thing I can do is control is what I do right NOW.

If fact, as I write this I'm thinking about all the stuff I need to get done today and the stuff I didn't get done throughout the week. I feel my anxiety going up.

Stop. Take a deep breath. Come back to the present.

Happiness, sadness, excitement, anger, frustration, joy, laughter, anxiety, pleasure and any other feeling you can think of only ever exists in the present.

In every moment, I get to choose where I want to live emotionally.

Right now, I choose gratitude.