Seize the moment

I watched the movie Dead Poets Society again the other day. Among many inspiring scenes, I was really struck by the one where the new English teacher, played by Robin Williams, fires up his class with the phrase: carpe diem! In Latin, this means "seize the day". He uses the words as a call to action - a challenge to each individual to be fully alive and make the most of life.



My favourite motto is even more immediate than this: carpe punctum, which means "seize the moment". This is a reminder to stay focused on the present moment, rather than worrying about the future or the past. Have you ever thought about how much time you waste in a day - either in the past, fretting over something you didn't get finished or that didn't go perfectly; or out there in the future, stressing about all those things still sitting on your to-do list? And to what end?

I love this quote by Allan Johnson:

"The past is history;
The future is a mystery;
This moment is a gift;
That is why this moment is called the present;
Enjoy it."

That is wonderful advice! The greatest point of power is to be found right here, right now. Concentrating on the present enables you to cut through all the stuff that doesn't matter and hone in on the real essentials. Realistically, you can have a number of things on the boil at once, but you can actually only do one piece at a time. It's incredibly liberating to shift your focus in this way. What is the one most important thing you need to focus on right now?

Make every action you take truly matter. Consider this Buddhist saying:

"If you want to know your past, look into your present conditions.
If you want to know your future, look into your present actions."

Think about what this really means for your life. Whatever is going on in your life right now is a result of how you thought and acted in the past - regardless of whether you intentionally set out to manifest this or not. But, most importantly, you're creating your future through the way you are thinking and acting in this very moment. You have the power to change your life for the better simply by setting a clear intention for what you DO want.

There is magic in doing this. You can tap into incredible energy when you consciously direct your thinking. What you focus on is what you are creating in your life. As I said last week, that doesn't mean that every single thought that flies through your head has to be a positive one! It takes some time to set new thought patterns. Work at it... stick with it... and bit by bit you will shift your mind out of negative ruts and into a more positive arena.

Try out carpe punctum as your new motto and apply yourself to making the most of each moment of your day... And enjoy every minute of it!