Being present and serenity

I am learning the art of being present, so that I'm actually living in the moment and not in the past or the future...no more regrets, fears, or even wishful thinking to take away the enjoyment and honouring of what is right now!!! I am aiming for serenity...peace amidst all the chaos and ups and downs of day to day life. It definitely is a work in progress...

As I am doing this I am becoming more and more aware that it may not actually be peace that i am aiming for, rather harmony, or maybe neither...as per definitions...or both...
Serenity
- the absence of mental stress or anxiety,
- calm, peace, tranquility, composure, peace of mind
- steadiness of mind under stress
- a state of peace and quiet

Peace
- Freedom from quarrels and disagreement; harmonious relations
- Inner contentment; serenity- absence of mental anxiety
- harmony between people or groups

Harmony
- Agreement in feeling or opinion; accord
- compatibility in opinion and action
- congruity of parts with one another and with the whole
- harmony of people's opinions or actions or characters-capability of existing or performing in harmonious or congenial combination

What I am learning is that being present connects us with our ability to have an open heart, beacuse we do not worry about past or future, but instead have trust in this universe and connect with what matters; the present moment! Which is all we have anyway.

As my heart opens I find that I am actually experiencing all my feelings more intensely. The difference is; my feelings don't drive me the way they used to. I am able to connect with my ups and downs, celebrating my highs and taking note of my lows. My lows provide ample material for getting to know myself better and connect with what holds me back in life; ususally emotional baggage or misconstrued ideas/beliefs that I may or may not not have been aware of. But I do not look at it to dwell on it, rather to understand that which no longer serves me. Once I know what it is I have the opportunity to change my own programming and create a new story for myself; one that does serve me and is actually true. It gets easier the more I do this, but we are some amazing onions, with our humanity and vulnerability so intertwined that it is hard to know what is what. Thus, we are the easiest to fool and the hardest to be honest with....ourselves. And so it is a lifelong journey.

Life is full of ups and downs and the challenges can test us at the core of who we are. What I am learning is that I have a pretty well equipped tool belt to handle whatever challenges come my way. It is not easy, but it helps me stay present and let the future take care of itself more.

I do not see conflict or disagreements as a negative thing, on the contrary. It shows up as a natural element of living an authentic life, where we honour what is true for ourselves, yet are human in the midst of it all. And conflicts are a natural part of life. The key is how we deal with them and how we perceive them. How we feel about conflicts determines the actions and thus our experience of them.

Serenity... for me: acceptance of what is and allowing the experiences and emotions to be true without arguing with reality or wanting things to be different, knowing that everything (good or bad) is perfect exactly the way it is at any given moment.

Food for though:

Symptoms of Inner Peace
A tendency to think and act spontaneously rather than on fears based on past experience
An unmistakable ability to enjoy the moment
A loss of interest in judging other people
A loss of interest in judging self
A loss of interest in interpreting the actions of others
An inability to worry (this is a very serious symptom!)
Frequent overwhelming episodes of appreciation
Frequent acts of smiling
An increasing tendency to let things happen rather than to make them happen
An increased susceptibility to the love extended by others as well as the uncontrollable urge to extend it.
-Unknown

"The more I attempted to "be me" the more "me's" I found there were.
I now see that "being me" means acknowledging all that I feel at the moment,
and then taking responsibility for my actions by consciously choosing
which level of my feelings I am going to respond to.... "

-Hugh PratherNotes to Myself : My Struggle to Become a Person