Do me a favor.
Just exist. Surrender yourself to the moment. Smile and breathe in all the magic that surrounds you, right now.
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Did you do it? Be honest. It’s OK, there’s still time. If you skimmed over the opening of this article I am calling you out about it. It’s with love that I ask you to do this small favor, so take just a few moments to try and become present in the now. Just exist.
Not always easy, huh? Our society tells us to go, go, go. To climb the ladder of success and never give up until we are the best of the best. I know; I grew up with this mentality. My father was the president of large restaurant chains and often worked from sunup to sundown. He loved his work and devoted much of his life to it. That being said, family always came first. He not only taught me the importance of working hard, but also the value of enjoying life at the same time. If we spend our whole lives working, rushing, and trying to get to this ideal destination, we miss the journey getting there. The journey is what’s important, not the destination. It’s the here and now.
When you look up the synonyms of “here and now” you’ll find a long list, including “the present moment,” “reality,” and “real world.” It makes sense. The here and now is reality, and we have the infinite power to make it exactly what we want it to be. It feels pretty awesome to know that we are capable of something so substantial. We create our reality. Life is exactly what we make it.
If we spend our whole lives working, rushing, and trying to get to this ideal destination, we miss the journey getting there.
One of my yoga mentors once told me, “The future is a series of nows.” Ain’t that the truth? We spend so much of our lives thinking about things that are uncontrollable. We worry about things that haven’t happened yet. We create stress and lose sleep over our relationships and we end up missing the special, beautiful moments that could have and should have been experienced. Life is NOW. Everything you need and want is in THIS moment.
Every breath is a new opportunity to start over, alter our consciousness, evolve into a better version of ourselves, and to be happy. Allow yourself to transform. Change into the person you’ve always wanted to become. The universe wants to give you everything you need and want. All we have to do is be open and receptive.
Photo by Ali Kaukas for Wanderlust.
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Zuzu Perkal is an independent artist, photographer, yoga instructor, and adventure enthusiast in Austin, Texas. Her days are filled with coffee, paint, and daydreams. She believes mistakes are simply a beautiful opportunity for growth and that our own life experiences serves as our most valuable teachers. Zuzu recently graduated from Wanderlust’s first Teacher Training Program and is on a mission to continually expand her consciousness while following her journey down the yogic path. She is currently experimenting with the concept of a floating yoga studio and mixed medium practice.