
What is the moment? Life is available only in the present moment. If you abandon the present moment you cannot live the moments of your daily life deeply.
~Thich Nhat Hanh
Now
But what happens when you know the present moment is changing and every fiber in your being wants that change? What happens when that knowing is against the grain, resting somewhere on the leading edge, holding steady contrary to cultural beliefs?
Change happens….
The present moment is all we have. It’s all we ever have. And experiencing inspiration within the moment is one thing. Following that inspiration is quite another thing. And this is what I experienced in waves leading up to our departure.
It was a deep inspiration.
It was a deep desire.
It was also a deep knowing that I could only surrender to.
Wayne Dyer said “Avoiding the present moment is almost a disease in our culture, and we are continually being conditioned to sacrifice the present for the future. Carried to its logical conclusion, this attitude is not merely the avoidance of enjoyment in the now, but an evasion of happiness forever.
I had been a student of Eckhart Tolle for many years. I had also studied the works and applied the philosophies of many teachers along the way. For me it was a great journey to surrender to the inspiration, relax into the present and trust moment. When did that happen? It has occurred every single day of my life. However, the gradual changes occurred when I consciously started to listen to the faint voices from within. Little by little I opened up to listening. Gradually, I entertained the ideas. Finally I became present. There, naked stood vision.
Once I made peace with not caring what others thought, life became lighter. Once I listened to the inspiration, life became clearer. Once I took actions to follow my vision, life became free and easy.
And off we went…
“The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.” — Buddha
Why did Miro and I leave the states to experience the world? Well, I could intellectualized the answer and come up with some pretty persuasive arguments and promises. In fact, I’ve written about these ideas before. But what I really wanted to address here that there is a correlation between living in the moment and being inspired to do so. We all have the inspiration to live in the moment and there is no single moment that points to this inspiration. Life is solely about being in the moment.
The only advice I can give to another who maybe interested embarking on a lifestyle outside of the norm is, don’t bother with intellectualizing it. Remain inspired. Let the reasons melt away. Surrender to the moment. Remember, life is meant to be delicious.
Incidentally, research shows the many physical benefits of learning to be in the moment—from lower blood pressure to reduced levels of stress and anxiety. But the spiritual benefits, explored by modern teachers such as Eckhart Tolle, Ram Dass, Byron Katie (I love ‘The Work’!), Ester & Jerry Hicks & the words of Abraham, and Wayne Dyer. (and many, many more…..)
Interested in what other traveling families say about their moment of ‘zen’? Read more here:
Living Outside of the Box – The Moments that Added Up
Mary Bohemian Mom – The First Moment
Worldschool Adventures – The Moment of Inspiration In Hoi An Vietnam
Livin On The Road – Whose Idea Was It?
Tripping Mom – The moment I decided to live abroad for one year, just me and my child
The Great Family Escape – Capturing The Moment
Family on Bikes – One moment in time: A lifetime of adventures
Family Trek- The moment we knew we were made for more
26 Comments
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It’s a process.u00a0 Learning to live in the moment.u00a0 Maybe I should say “relearning” to live in the moment.u00a0 Kids do it all day long.nnIt really helps those of us who are still planning and learning to live in the moment when we see how successful and at ease you and Miro have become with the lifestyle.u00a0 Thanks for that!
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It really is a process. I need to refresh daily. But that’s part of being in the moment.
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I loved your title, it says it all.
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Thanks Marilia!
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Thanks for sharing part of your journey! u00a0As you said, “Once I made peace with not caring what others thought, life became lighter.” u00a0Amazing how well we can live and how much we can enjoy life when we quit worrying what others think of us or whether we are living up to THEIR expectations for us.
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It’s so true. Thank you so much for the comment!
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“Surrender to the moment” is just right. Trying to be open to inspiration can be a challenge…but when you are, life can lead to so many wonderful surprises…!
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Thank for the comment!
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Delicious indeed!
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Thanks Rebeca!
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Beautiful Ilainie. u00a0Remain inspired. u00a0We are all inspired but we have to keep it alive, live it, breathe it, be it.
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Thanks Amy!
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Awesome! You are so right that we need to live in the moment always. As long as we are making conscious decisions leading to what makes us happy rather than doing something just because society expects us to, we’re living in the moment!
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Thanks Nancy!
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Amazing that you realised that the moment is about living, and being true (while also being present). Good to hear that you are following your heart along with your son!nnCheersnLisa
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Thanks Lisa! It’s a constant focus!
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Love this post, am going to go back over it a few times 🙂
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Thanks Molly. I need to refresh too. All the time! 😉
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