Be present.

Be present.

A term that’s been floating around since the dawning of the New Age movement is, “be present.” Sounds simple enough, that is until Life throws you a brutal curve ball before you’ve even had a chance to step outside of the house. When I decided to become a full-time travel blogger and public speaker, it seems as though challenges have sprung up from every corner to test my resolve. As an artist, I’m basically willing to stick my neck out in order to realize the vision of my heart. But nothing in life is free, that is, except the choice to remain free during the process.

What I mean by that is, I’ve spent the majority of my life striving and struggling to become what I thought society expected of me. But the more involved I got in chasing the “American Dream” the more miserable Life became. It’s as though every goal I set out to attain kept getting father and farther away. That is until the day it finally dawned on me that the journey is the goal. Only within the process of pursuing my dreams does the Life I’ve always desired begin to take shape.

One of the boulders that stood in the way of me even getting started with the achievement of a goal was the seemingly vast distance between where I needed to begin and where my desired outcome lay waiting. And because time was the variable that prevented me from taking action, being in the present was next to impossible. Why? Because to be present means you are no longer compelled by fear, desire, achievement, or loss. Everything you need to realize your dreams is housed within the 60 seconds that make up every minute of every day.

For example, if I start my day by failing to feed myself a nourishing meal then I’ve already set myself up for failure. Our bodies are our temples. Therefore, they must be maintained as though our beloved were to stop by for a random visit at any moment. But what about those of us who don’t have the time to cook or even know how to cook for that matter? Take it from someone who’s only skill in the kitchen was, at one time, boiling water – you can learn. And learning is another means of being present.

Several mentors of mine would constantly remind me that if I wanted to keep getting what I was getting, I just had to keep doing what I was doing. And what I used to do was be my own worst obstacle.

Sure, I wanted some of the finer things in life but was never willing to put in the work to attain anything that required a lot of effort let alone time. Besides, why try something new when the old way is easier, saves time, and requires no studying, mastering, or heaven forbid, failure. The irony is that if dedicating time to achieve a personal aim in life becomes your biggest obstacle then before you know it, you’ll be old and there won’t be anymore time left – only regret.

So how can the tables be turned on a mindset that never seems to have enough time? The answer, like it or not, is to be present. Take for example the time it takes for me to compose a new blog entry. From start to finish can sometimes entail five or six hours of sitting on a stiff chair, staring into a computer screen, and deleting almost as many words as I generate.

I could just binge watch a season of ‘Game of Thrones’ instead. But then what would actually get accomplished? Sure, my ego would experience the immediate satisfaction of being entertained, but I would be no closer to entertaining my own dreams of being an active travel blogger. And in order to blog about travel, you actually have to get out into the world and travel.

And in order for me to choose the more productive option over the inertia of doing what had always been done before simply became a matter of creating a writing ritual. I don’t just park my butt in the chair and begin cranking out words. Spotify https://support.spotify.com/ie/article/what-is-spotify/ has been one of the key components in my ritual because music has the power to transport us beyond the dimension of time, and space.

Having a beverage like tea within reach is also part of the overall set up. But above all else, Bose noise canceling headphones enwrap me in the music and drown every other sound out. They were a gift to myself initially intended to drown out the sound of the aircraft and screaming babies whilst in flight. They have since extended their usefulness beyond that cloudy, blue horizon. Finally, it’s just a matter of selecting the type of music that evokes the most inspiration, and viola!

Being present has always been the key because it involves the process. You know, the actual doing of things which can be a real drag when you’re actually not enjoying the work. So if you want to change the work you’re doing, learn to enjoy the process of whatever it is you’re currently involved in, and it will condition your mind to find a new pathway towards a more desirable aim in life.

Before you know it, you’ll be traveling the world or saving the planet or creating the music that helps transport people like myself beyond the realm of time and space. Now that’s a career choice anyone can be proud of. Does this mean that the rest of my life will be dedicated to travel blogging? Not at all. But it’s a hell of a good start. All that was required for initiating the adventure of truly being alive was for me to be present. After all, none of us are promised tomorrow, and it’s totally useless living in the past. All we ever have in this life is the here and now. Everything else is just details.

Love & Aloha,

Alexander Demetrius

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