Tuesday, September 29, 2009

LIVING IN THE PRESENT

In my endeavor to occasionally dwell in ‘Now’ (the present moment) I get into the R.A.C.E.
The letter ‘R’ stands for recognition. That is the first approach whereby I recognize, realize and appreciate that how important is the present moment.
It’s followed by the letter ‘A’ which stands for acceptance. Once the present moment is recognized, acceptance of it is very important. It does not matter how beautiful, ugly, bad, good, easy or difficult the present is, it has to be accepted, taken or claimed.
‘C’ stands for capturing or containing the present moment. I got to seize or grasp the moment to really get the feel of it.
And finally ‘E’ stands for enjoyment. The moment in whatever shape, form or situation it represents once I have recognized, accepted and contained it then it must as well be enjoyed and relished.
I experimented with the R.A.C.E. recently during the tough hike of Grouse Grind. Every step of the Grind was a moment, which I first recognized, accepted it as the only choice was to go up, captured each moment by trying not to be swayed by any other thought; and finally enjoying every step of the way till the steep hill was finally covered.
This was an experience in which I realized that it is possible the action (climbing movements) and the actor (me) can be one entity at the same time. In other words a verb becomes a noun. Like a dance and dancer during performance become one.