Ever wonder what life would be like if we were more like animals and totally lived in the moment without a care for tomorrow? Ever wonder what it would be like to spend our days just grazing in the grass or flying over the ocean looking for fish?
Animals live completely in the moment. While beavers build damns and birds build nests for future benefits and babies, they are mostly acting out of habit and instinct. For all we can see, they live completely in the present and mostly for survival. They may store food and build out little small abodes in canyons and caves for future use, but they are not fretting over the rising cost of groceries and prospecting over where the next real estate boom will take place. They are consumed with whatever life task is necessary in the NOW.
Humans, on the other hand, are much more complicated. We worry about our mistakes of the past. We constantly conjure thoughts for what can go wrong in the future. We plan, study, prospect, evaluate, optimize and speculate. We strive to live beyond just surviving to create and build and experience and leave legacies.
The Mindfulness philosophy says we should live in the moment as much as we possibly can…..take in our environment; savor every breath; hear every note of the music. While I love the idea of this and I like to pause a lot and be grateful for this life and all the amazing things we have, I have found that for me, personally, to live in a constant state of present admiration and reflection is not really realistic. To live solely in the moment sounds wonderful. But, how is any work getting done? I think it would be kinda nice to be a squirrel and not care at all, but I wonder if it is really humanly possible. Humans like a vision. Humans like to see a better future. Humans are made to create by thinking forward.
Am I the only one who feels the pressure here? Does anyone feel the tension in always attempting to figure out how to live this life as optimally as possible -striving to build a better future and a legacy and yet still finding a way to smell the roses in front of us right now? It can be exhausting!
I don’t think squirrels have this issue at all.
We’ve established that the need to grow, create and evolve is part of the human experience. And yet, we do love and want to grab onto the comfort, safety and fun in the moment. We waste and spend countless hours trying to find the balance between the two. It’s part of why the human experience is so conflicted. We can never completely get it right and we can never seem to relax. We go back and forth between this continual craving to live for what feels good right now and at the same time a need and desire to always be shedding the skin of our former selves. This leaves us in a continual state of stop and start, push and pull, ease and unrest.
The back and forth can often leave us confused, disoriented, disorganized, unmotivated. The only time I’ve seen a squirrel disoriented and confused is when he finds himself on hot asphalt during rush hour.
So, what is it that we really want? Is it possible to find ways to love life on a day to day basis and still be growing and getting better and building a better future for ourselves without going CRAZY? Can we have our cake and eat it too? Do we have to choose between our present or our future?
We are raised to believe a lot of what will make us better requires discipline, work, focus, determination, taking calculated risks and getting out of our comfort zone. And, this is true. Each of these is almost a requirement to building a better life. But, a lot of these are not seen as fun, comfortable or sometimes even safe. Some are seen as treacherous, miserable and scary! But, what if we can learn to look at the tasks and behaviors with more of a playful eye?
What squirrels and the rest of the animal kingdom have figured out is that there is still work to be done – lot’s of it – so they JUST DO IT! They don’t fret about whether it will work out or not. They don’t ponder over decisions to eat grass or nuts today. They don’t research the best weather app for nesting season or sit around wasting time about whether mama squirrel will need a hip replacement after her tree fall last week.
Now, I’m not saying we should never just have simple, all out fun. There are times when this is needed and necessary. What I’m saying is I believe we can have it all – enjoy our present and be building an amazing future too. But, we have to learn to look at life like the animals do.
I bring up squirrels a lot here, because we, apparently, live in the land of squirrels. I can step out my back door at any given time and a whole flurry of squirreliness is taking place all around me. I’ve watched the squirrels a good bit. They appear to spend most of their time digging, scratching and destroying property in efforts to find acorns and little seeds and bugs. There is obviously a plethora of all of this in my backyard. But, one thing I’ve noticed about the squirrels is that they are very playful about their work. They are jumping and frolicking and chasing one another. They even take time to rest and nap, which is very interesting to me. They seem very busy, disciplined, focused, determined and they are even taking calculated risks as they leap from branch to branch. But, they see it all as fun. They are not stressed for time and once the day gets too hot, their efforts start to slow down.
I think we can have it all! The key is to get squirrely and start to see the tasks and behaviors to move us forward as fun and adventurous instead of PAIN and WORK.
Start to plan and dream about a better future, but do the actions to move forward with a joyful, positive, playful attitude. Take the time to really connect with people working alongside you. Take breaks to smell the air and feel the breeze. Keep things simple. Don’t overthink! Do your best to be joyful in the process and celebrate when you have success. Most of all, stop wasting time overthinking options and just start taking action. JUST GO FIND THE NUTS NOW!
When we start to look at WORK and GROWING in this way, we begin to have it all. We are learning to enjoy the present as the animals do and somehow, the future keeps looking brighter and brighter too.
WE GOT THIS, Y’ALL!
Feelin Good with Kelly Anderson
Kelly Anderson - The Feelin Good Mama 