Tranquility Workshops Blog

This morning I took my 4 year old grandson to karate.  He loves his class and was all excited to go, but when we got there, his mood had changed.  His regular teacher was not there, and in his place was another karate instructor.  This man introduced himself to us, and encouraged Matthew to join in the class.  Matthew started getting tearful, refused to enter the class, and was insisting to leave.  He said that this new teacher was not nice and that the class would not be fun.  Just then, it hit me: “ A-ha!  He’s left the present moment, and is anticipating the future.”   Mindfulness to the rescue!

I told him that he didn’t have to participate, but I encouraged him to sit with me in the viewing area to watch the class.  He reluctantly agreed, and kept a watchful eye on this new teacher, who was starting to instruct the children in some new techniques.  I asked Matthew if he was able to do these new moves,  and he got off of my lap to demonstrate them to me.  As he continued to watch, he began critiquing the other children, and whispered to me:  “That’s not how you do it!” 

The teacher then began playing some fun games with the kids, and Matthew was intrigued by what they were doing.  He closely watched his friends running, jumping and laughing, and I could tell by the look on his face that he wanted to join in.  I encouraged him to accompany me to the entrance of the room, and we sat there watching all of the fun.  He then said:  “I’m getting in line to play…..I’m ok now.  Go back and sit down.“  The teacher and the children welcomed Matthew into the group, and he was a shining star, as usual.

When the class was over, he said:  “I’m glad I went in.  I had fun, and the teacher was different but really nice!  Why was I afraid?”  I explained to him that sometimes we think we know how things are going be, but the only way we can find out is to stick around, look, listen and see what really happens.    I told him that I was so proud of him for trying it out.

Later in the day, something happened that I didn’t like, and I kept it alive in my mind for a few minutes, before recognizing that I would not let go of the past.  This shouldn’t have happened!  Mindfulness involves accepting the present moment just as it is, and once I remembered that, my hot thoughts cooled down, and so did I.  I took a deep cleansing breath to reconnect with the present moment.  

It’s a good idea to do a  mindful spot-check of your own thoughts, words and actions to determine in you are indeed in the present moment, or off on a journey to the past (which is gone) or the future (which hasn’t arrived yet).    Life is too short to miss the moments that we are actually living.