This I Believe

 

         

         I believe in living in the moment—taking in the beauty of an instance of time. As humans, we have this innate capability of living in either the past or future. If time is always flowing, then are we not always living in past? For every time we perceive something through one of the senses, that instance is already over. It’s as if we are continuously living in a memory; a memory of past events. And for every moment of existence, external stimuli are perceived by your brain then forever locked away in a vague vault of interchangeable past experiences. Yet, these same experiences are constantly altering how I view my future. We learn from past events to help shape how the future plays out—learning to avoid pain and misery at all costs and to seek out happiness and love unconditionally. We tend to always be planning for the immediate future, but never the absolute future. I want to go to college, get an education, and one day receive a job—but then what? What is my ultimate goal that I am planning for? Wealth, morality, peacefulness? Whether we are living too fully in the past, or be constantly planning for the future, the present, the only one of which I have the ability to control, seems to be the last thing on my mind.

          There is a technique called Mindfulness Meditation that has been popularized by Buddhist monks in which they train their minds to embrace the present, accept past events, and patiently await the inevitable, uncontrollable future. I have learned through personal experiences, reading texts from the Buddha himself, observing my uncle meditate in person, and through scientific journals that all validate that this is a form of therapeutic exercise and has fundamental benefits on the way the brain perceives and stores information. The technique is as simple as breathing, taking only 30 minutes out of my day. I must fully concentrate on the air filling my lungs, expanding my diaphragm, and then gently exhale the carbon dioxide. The benefit comes in learning to teach yourself to exclude all other stimuli that enter your brain. If you seem to notice yourself slipping away from concentrating on breathing, simply ease your mind back to being fully fixed on the air entering and then leaving your lungs. Much like a muscle, if the brain is actively engaging in these techniques on a regular basis, then the areas of your brain associated with acceptance, mental patience, and happiness will neurologically strengthen the electrical pathways responsible for these emotional states—a process called neuroplasticity. This form of therapy has kept me emotionally stable and willing to fully accept whatever external stimulus may come my way. I believe in living in the present, accepting my past failures and accomplishments, and patiently awaiting the absolute future.