As college students, we are constantly asked about our plans for our future. What are you doing after graduation? What is your dream job? What do you want to do?
It becomes overwhelming, thinking about the future and being thrown out into the harsh reality of the world. Sometimes, thinking about the future can take up all of our time, whether it’s your far-off career or the million things you have to get done before tomorrow. When not paid attention to, this can cause a lot of stress and anxiety. Are the things we are doing now really going to pay off in the future?
Though having long-term goals for the future is important, we spend so much time thinking of these goals and what’s to come that we end up missing what we have now. We miss the sweet taste of the coffee we drank next to our best friend. We miss the warmth of sun on our face as we walk to class. We miss the joy of seeing our friends each day, the joy of seeing their smiles even for the briefest second. Our lives are passing us by and we are too busy to notice.
It’s time to stop missing out on your life. It’s time to take time to just be.
You may think you don’t have time to pause. You may think you aren’t able to stop the constant stream of thoughts running through your head. But you can, you do. All it takes is one breath.
Take a moment, right now, and fully sink into your experience. Whether you’re sitting or standing, take a moment to feel the ground beneath you, to feel gravity pulling you toward the Earth. Then, with full awareness, take a deep breath in, hold for a second, and a deep breath out.
That’s it. Just one breath. We all have time for one breath.
I encourage you to take several moments throughout the day to take just one breath with full awareness. And if you would like, take a few breaths, a few more moments to just be.
You might be surprised at what you find.