5 Tips for Living in the Present

by Karen McNamee

 

After a lovely Christmas time with family at the coast, in the country and at Hamilton Island, we were all looking forward to a brighter and less restricted 2022 as high vaccination rates promised a way back tofreedom and dare say it, a pre-Covid feeling of optimism.  However, as New Year’s Eve approached, the impact of throwing open the Queensland boarders was starting to be seen. Rising case numbers, contact tracing overwhelmed, increasing hospitalisations and predictions for worse to come made me feel very uneasy and less positive about 2022.

 

We decided to minimise outings, get togethers and events to try to limit the risk to our older family members who were awaiting their booster shots. I managed to get my booster vaccination on 30 December and spent the last day of 2021 feeling very unwell with a headache, muscle aches and fever. Good riddance 2021 but is 2022 going to be any better?

 

With Omicron sweeping through Queensland and entering country areas for the first time, it felt like there was no escape. Mask wearing, empty shelves, no RAT tests availability and little detail or direction in daily updates made me feel very uneasy and uncertain about the future. My usual positive “New Year’s Planning and Goals” didn’t make any sense in such uncertain times as I started to hear of people we know, then friends and even family who had contracted Covid. This felt worse than 2021. A line from the movie, “Lord of the Rings” played over in my mind - “A Shadow moves in the dark . . . We cannot get out . . .  They are coming…”.

 

How can we manage these feeling of fear, uncertainty and general doom and gloom, and continue to live a positive life?  This year my solution wasn’t to focus on future goals and planning but to hunker down and focus on living one day at a time, being grateful for all the blessing in my life and helping others when I can. We can remember the past, hope for the future but we can’t control either. There is only this present moment where we can choose how we live.

 

Here are 5 things that have helped me live in the present, feel more positive and focus on the simple things in life.

 

1. Collecting fresh flowers to put in a vase or just walking outside on green grass.
2. Making, eating and sharing simple, delicious and healthy food.
3. Doing at home Yoga each day. A shout out to Yoga with Adrienne’s 30 Day Move Challenge.
4. Prioritising sleep – meditating and using my Sleep Scents Pillow Spray each night.
5. Getting creative and making something beautiful.

 

I hope this finds everyone well and safe,

Karen

 

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