I am known to be guilty from time to time of getting completely wrapped up in my life. Sounds pretty normal right? It is somewhere I don’t like to be. I love my life, I am grateful for my life, but I want to experience it, not focus on it. It’s like when I am wrapped up in my life, my focus is on me, but when I am experiencing it, I am directed outward toward the world! Bliss.

Have you ever looked so hard for something only to find out it was right in front of you the whole time? 

That is the way the world seemed to be throwing me little clues this past week. It was the times that I got lost over the week, that I really was able to become centered and be reminded to be present. Traveling is not easy for me, especially going it alone, it is scary, lonely, exciting, peaceful, all at the same time. I never truly know what my health is going to do, I am never 100% if I have the correct directions when taking metro transit, there is always that chance that I will miss one link in the chain and everything will get thrown off schedule, then there is the thrill of the unknown, the excitement with being places I have never been before. The gratitude and passion of doing what I absolutely love, and spreading it nationwide. Just a mass of different emotions, feelings, thoughts, all at once, ranging the spectrum. The words that describe it the best are simple though, absolutely amazing.

It is easy for me to get sucked into a situation, a series of directions, a schedule, an upcoming event, or a meeting. Trying to keep everything flowing, moving, and together. That is precisely the time I stop experiencing the world. I am focused on the end game, the destination, the need to keep things in line, not the path I am currently on.
When I first arrived in New York City on the Jersey train, I knew I needed to find the Subway. Keep in mind I am new to traveling, New England, and mass transit. I was in one station and wandering, not sure which exit to take, not sure if I could get to my subway underground. Just wandering, trying to figure it out. (By the way, this is when asking for help would have been a novel idea!) So I am looking at my phone, trying to decipher my directions, trying to walk around to find this PATH train thing, not even sure if I can find it in Penn Station.

Then I surrender.

I decide I just need to go up to the street and chill out.

So I did just that.
My heart instantly warmed and my soul took a much needed breath the minute I emerged from the underground and actually looked around. I was present.

I realized that I really was in no huge hurry, there wasn’t a deadline that evening. (although I was excited to see the dear friend I was staying with!) In the big picture though, I needed this moment to breathe. To experience. To be present.

What is the point of doing all of this cool stuff if i am not even really there for it?

I eventually found the subway, I got to where I needed to go. And I got lost again the next day… And loved it…

There is so much peace in taking a moment to step back realize that life is a gift that should be cherished and enjoyed in each moment, not rushed through.

Even while traveling, I make sure to practice meditation daily to help me to be present throughout the day. I firmly believe that one of the worst fates in life is rushing toward the future and never truly living in the now. What a horrific shame it would be if I went through this once in a lifetime opportunity to travel the nation for four months and never really experience it!

What do you do to be more present in your life? Share in the comments below!