“Slow down, you move too fast.
You got to make the morning last.
Just kicking down the cobble stones.
Looking for fun and feelin’ groovy.”
– Simon and Garfunkel – 59th Street Bridge Song
As of late I am realizing how difficult it is to remember that life is groovy. So often I find myself caught up in life’s inconsequential problems when really there is so much to celebrate. Instead of acknowledging this, I get in a funk, beat myself up, and succumb to downward spiral thinking. So I asked myself, why is this? Why do we let all the hassles, fears, and worries take over and control our emotions and actions? How do we slow down, make the morning last, and enjoy all that is groovy?
When we are presented with a struggle or obstacle it becomes our focus. We find ourselves concentrating on the gap, the distance between what we want and how to achieve it, instead of focusing on what is available to us right now- the power of the present moment. In the present moment anything is possible. It is the only place where joy and miracles exist. Osho has a great quote that explains this “Act in the moment, live in the present, … don’t allow the past to interfere, and you will be surprised that life is such an eternal wonder, such a mysterious phenomenon and such a great gift that one simply feels constantly in gratitude.” And yet, even with this knowledge we find that we are constantly being pulled back into the struggle. How then can we stay on track and be present?
I think Simon and Garfunkel in the 59th Street Bridge song may just have given us all the clues we need:
SLOW DOWN YOU MOVE TOO FAST
I think the speed at which we operate may be the biggest obstacle to being connected to the present. So often we miss out on enjoying the beauty of our life because we are pre-occupied with our future. We all operate on a fast pace, rushing to and fro, obsessed with our to do list, thinking about all our upcoming responsibilities, responding to all the numerous distractions and entertainments we are involved in. If we just take a few moments to breathe, slow down, and notice what is happening in this very moment we can come back to the present and feel the power of what we are actually experiencing. We have an opportunity to reconnect with ourselves and let go of the stress of our life. So the next time you find yourself feeling out of sorts, stressed out, or overwhelmed, slow down, take a moment, look around, and breathe.
MAKE THE MORNING LAST
This is a reminder to make each moment count – to truly be present, pay attention, and appreciate the here and now. In any moment there is a myriad of amazing opportunities for gratitude, love, connection, and enjoyment. But we tend to overlook them and move onto the next thing. Somehow we are afraid of stopping and smelling the roses so to speak. We feel if we honor the present moment all the things that need our attention will suffer. What we don’t realize is that we suffer most when we ignore the moment and push our happiness off into the future. When we commit to experiencing our here and now, we make room for the miraculous. We have the opportunity to see the glory of what we have in our lives. We create the ability to choose our state of being and actually experience the bliss of being alive. Make each moment last means giving it its due, paying attention, and making a decision to open your heart to truly enjoy it.
LIFE I LOVE YOU, ALL IS GROOVY
Life is a gift and a miracle. We are all born in love and everything that surrounds us is a creation of the divine. When we forget this, our lives lose meaning. We feel sad and disconnected. So it is important to find a way to keep this knowledge present in our lives. Let yourself fall in love with your life. One of the reasons I love the word groovy, is that it means wonderful, exciting, awesome, fun, enjoyable. Life shouldn’t be taken too seriously, it is a grand adventure, filled with so many truly amazing things. It is up to us to take advantage of it. Groucho Marx says it best “I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn’t arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I’m going to be happy in it.”
How do you stay connected to the present and experience your groovy life. Let me know in the comments below!
Oh I love that song 🙂 Morning pages and my gratitude post on my Fabulous and Fearless Facebook page helps me to slow down and smell the coffee. I have to make myself slow down to do both those things.
Thanks for this very timely reminder and for embedding the video to go along. I hadn’t seen that one before.
hey there, thanks for the beautiful reminder to stay present and in the moment. As someone who can rush about a fair bit this is something I could do more so thanks for brining my awareness to that!