In the Laws of Attraction thinking, there is encouragement to hold the perspective that “The Present is Perfect” and “We have everything we need in life” RIGHT NOW in this moment, no matter what is happening. This is a pretty hard concept to swallow when you are just laid off, or your company is faltering, you are in the middle of personal turmoil, etc.
How can you think, say or believe this when it does not feel so true? If you have goals and desires to be in a place different then you are now or when the present picture is not so rosy, it is hard to say, “the present is perfect”…. When it doesn’t feel so perfect.
This is a key concept to start to embrace in order to get where you want to be. I believe it is driving at contentment, acceptance and the place of not fighting against the present. While you need to recognize where you want to be in order to get there, there is a way that you can do it without making “right now” wrong or bad.
Take an example; my 5 year old Mikylie wants to learn how to read. Does the fact that she can’t read right now make this a crappy, bad day, because dog-gone-it she wants to read NOW and she can’t so she wrestles and fights against accepting her present reality? If she can accept that she cannot read right now and appreciate and love that I get to read stories to her right now and she is in the process of learning and one day she will be able to read too – she can enjoy the process rather than make it harder. Then she opens herself to learn from me, enjoy the stories and embrace the process. The funny thing is, when you fight it (i.e. she would be mad she can’t read) it takes longer to learn because you are not open, receptive and curious. If you don’t accept the present, you are more likely to be discontent, resentful and focused on the negative that you can’t, others can, etc. vs. being in the process (learning to read).
Another example, I was playing Othelo with Miklyie (a game) and she was getting frustrated that she was loosing. I told her she needed to enjoy the game and not worry about the outcome. I encouraged her to work toward her goal – of winning – but not “tallying” each step of the way, because everything changed each time a player moved, causing her to be stressed and tense about the game rather than focused on her next move and enjoying it. (When she felt like she was loosing, she was more hopeless, discouraged and felt like she had no options!)
Sometimes in life we get all worked up about each move and get distressed feeling like we are loosing or failing. At times, I get sucked into this too. It is a daily practice to keep bringing yourself back to the present process, being aware that today is perfect and holding a clear focus about where you are headed, keeping a positive open attitude to what comes to you in this moment and day. For me, this is about my faith knowing God holds my bigger picture in His hands and that today He simply asks me to do my best. I don’t need to worry about regrets of the past or anxiety about the future, if I know where I am headed and am doing my best in the moment to work toward that goal, accepting what comes along the way (good or bad).
