How To Seize The Moment With Eyes Wide Open

Ever wonder how to stop ruminating on the past and worrying about the future? Want to learn how to be fully present in the here and now? In this episode, I muse on one of my very favorite quotes from Lao Tzu. 
Please note: This track may include some explicit language.

Transcript

Think meditation is hard? Do me a favor. Take a slow, Deep breath in. And now breathe out. Congratulations. You just meditated. Hi, I'm Crystal Joukowsky, And this is Breathe In, Breathe Out, A weekly mindfulness and meditation podcast for anyone ready to own their own shit and find a little peace while doing it. Hello and welcome back to Breathe In, Breathe Out. I am Crystal Joukowsky, And as always, I'm so delighted that you're here today. I'm so excited to just be in the studio. And really seriously, This is my favorite outlet. So I never thought that I would like to listen to my own voice, But I think that this is a great space to be in. And it just feels so wonderful to connect with people and the feedback we get is wonderful. This week, I want to talk about Lao Tzu and You. It is a topic that has come up several times. And because it's come up so many times, I really thought that I would just bring it across to you guys, My listeners, And see if there's any conversation that wants to go around it. I want to give a little disclaimer on this. What I have to say today is in no way meant to replace medical advice. If you experience anxiety or depression, I sincerely encourage you to get the help that is appropriate to you. Only you know what you are going through and only you are able to advocate for your own mental health needs. As I've said before, I myself have had to reach out for that support and I'm forever grateful for the resulting strength that I have found. And so I seriously encourage you to find that help if that's what you need. I came across a quote from Lao Tzu and he said, If you are depressed, You are living in the past. If you are anxious, You are living in the future. And if you are at peace, You are living in the present. As a student of life, I absolutely love things like this that give me pause. Just make me think about the world around me a little bit more. How does that apply? Can I use that more to help myself and grow some more? This concept really stuck with me and so I've ruminated on it for a while and it was really cool to just play around with it. And ever since that came across, I can't tell you how many times the same concept has come into conversation with other people. I was just working on a baby quilt with my mom the other day and we had this conversation about this quote. If you are depressed, You're living in the past. If you're anxious, You're living in the future. And if you're at peace, You're living in the present. This is the philosophy that if you're in the present, You're here. You're in this moment right here, Right now. You're not worrying about what might come, What is before you and you have no control over. And you're not stressing out about what's behind you, The things that you have already experienced, The things that you have lived through and found strength and some of those things that broke you and you had to put yourself back together through. You're not ruminating on the things that you have no power to change. It's the past. You cannot make that particular situation different than it was. So I step back and I look at it and I say, All right, Today I am really anxious. I am just a little bit jittery. What is up? What am I anxious about? What am I worried about? Is there something coming up today or tomorrow? Is there something next week that I'm a little bit about or am I depressed? What do I keep rolling around in my head? What is it that my brain is stuck on that I might need to just kind of take pause, Acknowledge it, Give it a big old hug and say, Yeah, That was a really sucky situation. Wrap it in a bubble and let it go. How can I release that upset and that frustrating emotion by being present to what it is that I'm feeling? Sometimes playing through the possible scenarios and how I could react sincerely eases my emotions. It lets me calm down if I need to voice something to someone that's around me or maybe there was a conversation that I had with somebody and that's a little bit upsetting and it's, Is there anything I could do about it? Yeah, Absolutely. I could call them up and I could say, Hey, You know, This was a little upsetting to me and I would love to just chit chat about it so that we can both be on the same page and move forward with our friendship or our relationship or whatnot. There are things that we can absolutely kind of do stuff about and then there are things that we have to acknowledge. Can't do a damn thing about that and that's really frustrating and yet instead of just mulling it over and over and being stuck in that, How can I move forward from that moment? So I'm telling you, I really love the concept. I love the idea of this concept and yet I want to argue with it a little bit. There's this part of it that doesn't sit well with me and that's because sometimes when I'm living in the past, I am reliving an amazing experience that I had with somebody and it brings me joy. There's not depression and upset from it. There is this gratitude and happiness and gosh, I really liked that. And some of the sad moments also bring joy because it's a, You know, That's really sad and yet I'm really glad that I had that. I'm really grateful that I had that experience with that person. Maybe it's a loved one that's passed on and you hear their voice and on the one hand you're sad and it brings you down and on the other hand it makes you happy because you had that time with them and you actually got to know them. There's this balance and when I'm living in the future, Sometimes there's anxiety and upset and some of those less desirable emotions and yet sometimes living in the future is so exciting and uplifting. On the one hand, We might look at the future and go, Holy crap, That is scary and terrifying and I don't know what I'm going to do and that might freeze us into inaction. That might really cause us difficulty. But in the same aspect, Looking at the future and saying, Oh my gosh, I get to be in the podcast studio again, Which is really exciting and brings me joy. Or I get to go to this art exhibit or I get to go running or I get to meet with friends or I get to like, Sometimes living in the future is this excitement looking towards what's coming up. What are you learning or doing? Are you in school? Are you planning something big? Do you have projects at work? What are you moving towards that's really exciting and joyful? So these are the two sides of Lao Tzu and You. These are the two sides of that quote. I think that everything has those two sides and we have to look at them with eyes wide open. And I think that they're both very helpful. I think they're both very positive and beneficial because looking at them and being intentional about being in touch with our emotions and our feelings is where we're able to, Hey, How do I meet my needs right now? I'm feeling anxious. Why am I anxious? Is there anything I can do about it? And then take action. I'm feeling depressed. What am I going to do? Is there anything I can change? What can I do to support myself and soothe these fears and frustrations? How can I meet my needs on that end of the spectrum? So that I can move into the other end of the spectrum and find joy and peace and just excitement and hope. I am absolutely an advocate for living in the here and the now. See the beauty that is surrounding you. Take in the amazing things that you get to experience on a daily basis. I highly encourage you to just create those moments of joy for yourself and then share it with someone else because it's really easy to bring a little bit more light into the world when you share those little bits of joy and just it's like lighting a candle and then you have more light around you. So this life is a gift and opposition really helps us learn and grow. I encourage you to seize the moment, Be in the moment, Be the most authentic and beautiful you that you can ever be. And now let's excitedly let that feed into an amazing tomorrow. I look forward to seeing you again next week here on Breathe In, Breathe Out. I hope this moment of self-care and healing brought you some hope and peace. I'm Crystal Dzachowski on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube and I hope you check us out and follow along for more content coming soon. I look forward to being with you again here on Breathe In, Breathe Out. Until next time, Take care.