Friday, November 13, 2009

Being absent




There's a lot to be said for being in and attending to the present moment.  It enables you to experience life and to live fully.  NOT being present often causes us to miss out on experiences or to not completely enjoy them because our minds are somewhere else instead of taking in all that is happening in the moment.

I wonder, though, if there's a place for NOT being present.  Sometimes I enjoy fantasizing about things that will probably never take place outside of the confines of my mind.  I often relish remembering the details of a particularly wonderful experience.  (Although I would have had to be fully present during the experience to notice the details I later wish to recall).

Sometimes I don't feel like being present.  Sometimes it's nice to just let my mind wander where it will.  I wonder if there's anything wrong with that.

5 comments:

  1. Just me thought, but I let my mind wonder now and then. I see nothing at all wrong with it and I wouldn't be who I am if I weren't.

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  2. i sometimes go through teh same thing. i'm physically present but my mind wanders off. :) i think it's normal.

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  3. What a refreshing idea! Geez! I get so intensely caught up in this mindfulness stuff that I think I go overboard with it. It's absolutely wonderful to be reminded of the playfulness and creativity of the imagination. Thanks for sharing this.

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  4. You hit it right on the head when you said you'd still be present about NOT being present. ;-)

    Allowing your mind to just go is great... and relaxing too. Does take practice, especially for "Type -A's."

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  5. Without our "flights of fantasy", creativity would suffer quite a blow i think. No harm done in letting the mind wander as long as we have the intention and discipline to be present at appropriate times. but allowing ourselves to dream is where so much of the juice is! At least for me, that is where I find inspiration.
    By the way, these images on your blog are fantastic. I bet they were made during a journey into a place other than the present!

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