Last week I shared that 2016 is going to be the year that I strive to be more present.
To me, being present is not about sitting still for an entire year without goals or dreams or progress. It is about having a year that is not focused on the goals above the now.
I live in a household of movement. My husband would proclaim on any occasion that I am restless and unable to be still. I always am on the go, have things to do, and am focused on my checklist more than one should be. That is why learning how to be present will probably take a life, not merely a year...
Choosing "present" as my word of 2016 scared me. I thought that I would have to put all of my dreams on hold. I assumed that I would not be able to pursue anything, grow in any way. But God has clearly called us to grow with Him and each other every day. It has given me such a peace to remember that I am still able to pursue Him, pursue others, and pursue myself while learning how to be present.
So with being present, goals can still exist. Checklists can still remain. My day can just not be all about them.
For the month of January, I am going to pursue among being present.
Pursue Him ::
Savor - Spending every day in the Word. Some days will be more than others; I will just be honest and open there, but I got Shauna Niequist's Savor
Pursue Others ::
Date Night - We use to be so good about date night, and then we bought a house, got busy, and our calendars filled up. Structured date night is so important to our relationship. We even budgeted it into our 2016 financial calendar. Yah!
Pursue Myself ::
Fitness - Fitness is never about tomorrow. It is always about today. My buddy, Meranda, has really helped me jump start the new year with challenging me on Jawbone's UP app to a step challenge and it has really got me thinking about how fitness fits into being present. Instead of putting it off until tomorrow or not feeling like we have enough time right now, I want to be present and go to the gym or do a workout routine today.
Pleasure - This really should be more "self-care" but I was listening to a podcast earlier today by Jess Lively and she said that self-care, for her, seemed such a like a chore; "pleasure" had much more energy around it. And I agree. To pursue pleasure time with myself, I want to take a bath. It sounds simple, but I always dream about it and never do it. I long for 30 minutes with a Lush bath bomb by myself and never sit still enough to be present with myself.
