A TO Z CHALLENGE - E FOR ENJOY LIFE TODAY

 the A to Zen of Life (via the Dalai Lama) - E is for Enjoy Life Today

MY A-Z CHALLENGE - E FOR ENJOY LIFE TODAY

The fifth letter of my A to Zen of Life (via the Dalai Lama) is E for Enjoy life today - yesterday is gone and tomorrow may never come. It’s all about living in the moment – something that I have been learning to do more over the last few years. 

Worrying about what happened yesterday, or trying to have a plan in place for any contingency that may arise tomorrow has been my modus operandi forever. Now I want to let all that go and just focus on the day I’m living in.

YESTERDAY IS GONE

Frank Sinatra famously sang - "Regrets - I've had a few...." and to be honest, so have I. There are things I've said and done, that if I could go back in time, I'd change them. Hindsight is a wonderful thing - it lets us see the ramifications of our actions, but what's done is done and we can't turn back time (there's a Cher song in there too!)

Regretting past mistakes steals the joy from the life we're living now. Wallowing in 'would haves' and 'should haves' changes nothing and just makes us miserable. Let's leave the past in the past, learn from it, and aim to do better from now on.

TOMORROW MAY NEVER COME

The other big joy sucker is constantly worrying about the future. Worry changes nothing - it just makes us churn over a million different possibilities in the hope that we'll have a contingency plan ready for when the inevitable happens. The thing is, it's rarely as awful as our worries make it out to be - often there was nothing to worry about at all and all that time was wasted.

Worry is a total waste of time. It doesn't change anything. All is does it steal your joy and keep you very busy doing nothing.

I'm working on being a non-worrier. I won't ever be so zen that I can let life completely just happen to me, but I can endeavour to live life in the here and now and let tomorrow take care of itself. I can also pull myself up when I start worrying and remember to live in the moment and wait and see what happens down the track.

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

Are you able to live life in the moment - are you enjoying today and all it holds, or are yesterday's regrets and tomorrow's worries eating away at your happiness? Why not join me in doing our best to focus on the here and now and let the rest be as it will be.

 the A to Zen of Life (via the Dalai Lama) - E is for Enjoy Life Today

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32 comments

  1. Hari OM
    Yup, I'm a 'now' peep. I had my share of 'what ifs' and 'why did I's' back in the day. Very occasionaly it rears its head now - but have pretty much learned to nip that in the bud now. It does take practice, but it can be done! Wishing you all success in your Nowness. YAM xx

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  2. This is a timely reminder because even though we know that living in the moment is the best thing and we remember how peaceful and happy we feel whenever we do, we still tend to worry and over plan and lose the joy of life. I'm really enjoying your A to Z of Zen.
    Http://www.kalpanaawrites.com

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  3. Leanne I've alway struggled with living in the moment and enjoying today. Yesterday and tomorrows problems have always been on my
    Mind. But that is now the past. I find as I am getting older I'm able to give up all that worry concern and Enjoy today. Great advice here

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  4. I think that's an area I'm doing pretty well at. I am OK with past choices, they brought me here, and I did well. I try to make my bed comfortable because I know I will have to sleep in it, meaning I prepare a thing or two for the future and otherwise go with the flow. Life is what happens while you're busy making (other) plans.
    Hubby is a worrier, and I agree, it sucks the joy out of him, but I also understand it's hard to "just stop worrying".

    As for enjoying today, this is what I am gonna do: I cleared my entire schedule, postponed appointments, arranged for my mom to pick up C so I can go spend the day in a future A-Z blog destination. The one that is almost closest to my home, but I don't have any decent pictures. Logically I need to drive there and take some, RIGHT?

    https://thethreegerbers.blogspot.ch/2018/04/e-is-for-edmonton.html

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  5. I like to think I'm a now girl & can say that I don't have regrets as such...at least I don't think I do. Loving this series, by the way...

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  6. Yes I have regrets but don’t we all that is part of life. Living in the moment is always a WIP for me Leanne but life is short so we have to make the most of everyday. We are on the same wavelength as mine is E for Embracing Life today xx

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  7. That's a motto I have been trying to adapt too and the best practitioners of this concept are my kids or any children for that matter ....they don't brood ; they don't worry ; they never give up

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  8. Great thoughts here again Leanne! I'm a bit of a 'what iffer' and this is something I need to stop doing early on before it gets out of control.

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  9. I'm definitely on this journey with you, Leanne. It's a tough one, lots of two steps forward, three steps back. But yup, it's so worthwhile. Worry does steal joy and waste time. It's also bone-deeply exhausting.

    https://profoundjourney.com E is for (The) End of Absence

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  10. it is a practice- I used to be a shocker with anxiety , I really think it came to me thru the womb of my mother and it took me years to unravel it. and a worrywort which can still waylay me at times but now I have tools and wisdom heart on side which requires me to hold vigilance. good stuff leanne

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  11. I would love to live in the moment more but it is one of my biggest challenges. I am consciously trying to improve in this area and let go of worry. Worrying doesn't help and it drains you. But, it's a work in progress.
    Weekends In Maine

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  12. It's so easy to get caught up in the mundane stuff or in technology that I forget to just be in the moment and enjoy it. Thank you for the reminder...there's usually a lot going on that is enjoyable, but why is it so easy to tune it out?
    Melanie's Stories

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  13. Excellent! I love the choices you've had for A to Z!

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  14. This is so apropos, Leanne!! Both my hubby and I are worriers, but have gotten better over the years. It's just so unproductive!!
    XOXO
    Jodie
    www.jtouchofstyle.com

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  15. Very good advice! My mom used to worry a lot and I think it took a toll on her health. I've been trying to live more in the present and trying not to worry about things that are out of my control.

    Ann
    https://harvestmoonbyhand.blogspot.com/2018/04/hobbies-that-begin-with-e-blogging-from.html

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  16. Most days I take as they come. It’s easier now that the kids are adults and doing well. When I do get stuck in the worry loop, I try to ‘make a plan’ which usually winds up being soooo ridiculous I figure I don’t really need to worry after all. Like this morning, I found myself worrying that something would happen to my husband at his perfectly safe job. Planning serpentined to my online dating profile plan!! You know, after an appropriate mourning period. Why?! Lol!

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  17. I have tried to stop worrying about the future but sometimes its hard...I give others the advice to stop worrying but it is easier said then done...especially when you are alone and trying to live off Social Security....having said all of that I do try....I look at things and say to myself., "when I'm 90 and sitting on my rocking chair, will this even be a worry"...and usually it's not...

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  18. Hi Leanne, Worrying about the future really can be a joy sucker. When my hubby was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer I was so distraught. A former pastor told me I needed to stop worrying about what I could lose and start focusing on what I had. That shift is my focus changed everything. My husband has now lived for over 5 years after being given only a 6 month life expectancy. I'm glad I haven't wasted all of that time worrying. Have an awesome day!

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  19. I've learned to not regret the past... but not worry about the future - this is still a challenge. I scenario plan (with lots of bad scenarios) everything! But I am working on living in the moment... enjoying the day. I doubt I'll ever stop being a planner, but I am trying to not go down rabbit holes with the bad scenarios!

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  20. I definitely needed this! I'm a worrier. Not the world class worrier my mother was, but a worrier nonetheless. And you're so right. It just wastes time and leaves you exhausted. Working on becoming a non-worrier and a live-in-the-moment person!

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  21. Oh to be a non-worrier. How much more wonderful and easier life would be. One of my greatest challenges. Enjoying your alphabet posts!

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  22. I'm not very good at living in the moment. I'm either reflecting on the past (I'm super nostalgic) or worrying about future things that may never happen. I've recently bought a few books on mindfulness to try to anchor myself in the present, so we shall see.

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  23. Oh, I do have this problem. I constatly worry about what will happen and what I'll do if that thing happens... and rarely this makes it any good.
    I'm also working to focus on the now, because it's true, planning the future is important, but we can't live int eh future. We live now. We shoudl enjoy what we have.

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  24. We get so taken with tomorrow and sad about yesterday, it's easy to forget today. Too easy. Thank you for the reminder. Every moment of today counts.

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  25. Hi, Leanne - Like you, I previously attempted to have a plan in place for all contingencies. Now....not so much! It is totally liberating to allow ourselves to live in the present. (Although my husband does seem at a loss when I no longer have a backup plan....or a backup stash of emergency items in my bag!) :)

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  26. I don't live in the past but very much do the future. I like to have plans made well in advance and I hate when they change. I have to remind myself to enjoy today.

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  27. Yes I believe that I am getting better at letting things go, rather than brooding or worrying about them. Like you though I will never be completely zen! #TeamLovinLife

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  28. For me, retiring and leaving the stresses of work behind has done wonders in terms of reducing anxiety. Less rehashing of what went wrong and less worrying about upcoming deadlines means that it is easier to enjoy the present moment.

    Jude

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  29. Leanne, it's as if you read my mind! :D The time for coulda-woulda-shoulda's is past, and I'm working very hard on letting the future unfold without my having thought out every possibility! Be here now.

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  30. I tend to be both a planner and a "do-er of post mortems" although getting much better at not dwelling on past failures for too long! Yet I can also live in (and enjoy) the moment. So I guess that makes me an eclectic mix. Imagine that! ;)

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  31. Living with a worrier and planner, I've tended to compensate by going the other direction. My motto is "let it go" way before the movie Frozen came out...
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    Gail Park

    Making Life an Art

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  32. Such an important topic Leanne. Let's feature this post on the next Blogger's Pit Stop to help more who struggle with the past or the future.
    Kathleen

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