Life in the Present

“Only one person in a thousand knows the trick of really living in the present.

Most of us spend fifty-nine minutes an hour living in the past, with regret for lost joys or shame for things badly done… or in a future which we either long for or dread. There is only one minute in which you are alive, this minute, here and now.”
-Storm Jameson

Where is your attention right now? Are you awake and aware of your surroundings?

I hope this reminder brings you squarely into the present. Although it is good to remember favorite events from our past and to be excited about what might happen for us in the future, real joy comes in the journey.

There is a wonderful quote of Thomas J. Leonard that goes, “Make the present incredibly wonderful, and the future will take care of itself.”

Our daily lives offer many opportunities for peak experiences, moments when we are feeling our happiest and strongest. This idea is explored thoroughly in “Flow: the Psychology of Optimal Experience” by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. In it, the author defines flow and offers examples of people achieving flow. Contrary to popular belief, that optimal feeling does not happen when we are at leisure (perhaps reminiscing about the past or dreaming of the future). It is most likely in the midst of intense effort either at work or play.

When can you appreciate these moments?

• You take a smart risk
• You learn something new
• You are engaged in stimulating discussion
• You make a discovery
• You begin to understand
• You put something together mentally or physically
• In some way, you go farther or faster

When we are in the moment, time stands still for us. We appreciate what is around us and whatever is happening to add to our happiness. We feel in control of our actions, and there is a deep sense of exhilaration and enjoyment.

Wow! That sounds great! How can I have that?

Pay attention. Take time during every day to notice what you appreciate. As you reach your goals or the milestones toward them, congratulate yourself and let the satisfied feeling sink in. Don’t travel to your desired destination wearing blinders! Admire the scenery that your daily experiences offer you, whether that scenery is physical or a mental image and feeling. When you are faced with a challenge, think of how you can learn and become stronger by facing it squarely.

Savoring the moment is the most pleasant feeling!

“Some people are making such thorough preparation for
rainy days that they aren’t enjoying today’s sunshine.”
- William Feather

Celebrating the Spirit of Affection With 70th Birthday Presents

Birthdays are always a special occasion, and provides one with the perfect opportunity to express one’s feelings. The day seems to be incomplete without gifting the only one and making him or her feel exactly how special they are for one. The special one need not be always one’s beloved or spouse. There are other people too who can be the successor to that exclusive seat in one’s heart and life. Some people exist in one’s world whose love is so much taken for granted that the worth of it is seldom appreciated. It is only acknowledged once that person is lost forever. One such person is one’s grandfather or grandmother. The love that they bear for one is absolutely unconditional. So do not seek occasions, create them. Surprise the aged sweet heart with a wonderful birthday present. Suggestions related to the 70th birthday presents follow later. The 1st birthday photo frames also form a lovely gift for the little one.

The babies are little bundles of joy for the family they step into. They have the magical ability of wiping away all the sorrows and pains inflicted by the harsh realities of life. Their innocent smiles and incoherent sounds seem to add a new meaning to the otherwise mundane life. Therefore the 1st birthday of this little angel needs the most special attention from the family in concern. The 1st birthday photo frames form the ideal gift. It helps to capture the precious moments of the little, cuddly toddler. This will help to create a memory that will always leave a smile on the face, every time it is viewed. The 1st birthday photo frames will prove to be the most apt document of the golden days of one’s life: childhood.

These 1st birthday photo frames can be made even more special with a personal touch. One can ornament these frames with variant sparkles, posits, colors and many more creative ideas. Photo frames form the rare group of gifts that bear no restrictions on the ground of age. That is to say that this can be presented to people belonging from any age group, without any shadow of doubt about its aptness. Therefore the 70th birthday presents for one’s granny or granddad can easily consist of the option of photo frames.

One must always keep in mind that the old sweeties of one’s life ask for nothing but love and attention. If one can assure them that they form an integral and indispensable part of one’s life, it would undoubtedly prove to be the best gift of the options available in the 70th birthday presents archive. Assuring them or anyone for that matter is easier said than done. However, the good news is that though it is difficult, it is not impossible. Remember they know one better than oneself so any pretension will get caught, but since they simply adore one therefore any gift with genuine feelings will be sufficient to assure them of one’s love. Therefore the difficulty with 70th birthday presents can be sorted with sensibility and genuine feelings.

The 1st birthday photo frames can therefore be a lovely gesture on the part of the parents, to capture and safeguard the precious childhood for the kid, once he or she grows up. The 70th birthday presents also serve the same purpose of conveying one’s heartfelt feelings to the most precious gifts of almighty.

When Presenters Run Out of Ideas, It’s Time to Read a Book

Sometimes when we are called on to give a presentation, we sit down to create the presentation only to find that our creative juices have somehow run dry. Oh, oh – this can be a big challenge. What always just seemed to “be there” can go missing just when we really need to draw upon it. What’s a presenter to do?

Despair not fellow presenters! This situation has happened to me and other presenters and we have a fairly simple solution that will get you out of this pickle: read a book.

Katherine Meeks is a New York City based speech consultant and language coach. She’s spent a lot of time with speechwriters and has made a not-so-amazing discovery: those of us who read a lot seem to have the best thoughts, the best style, and the most precise ways of using our vocabulary to make our presentations memorable.

I can hear you now: “Hey, I have a subscription to People magazine – I’m well read!” Umm, nope that’s just not going to cut it.

How often do you work on expanding your vocabulary? Probably not all that often. It turns out that once we are out of school, the size of our vocabulary stops growing as fast as it once did. Reading turns out to be one of the most effective ways that as adults we can continue to grow our vocabulary. Once again, a word-of-the-day desk calendar is not going to get you to where you want to be.

If you want to become a great presenter, then you have to become a great reader. In order for this to happen, you need to discover interesting books. The best way to do this is to simply ask other people that you know what they are reading. The key here is to find a way to filter the unending stream of books that are produced every year into a manageable trickle that you can have a chance of reading.

Other good ways to fette possible books for you to read include seeing movies and then reading the book. I was touched by the movie “Pursuit of Happyness” and just had to follow this up by getting and reading Chris Gardner’s book that the movie was based on. Wow – the book was much different from the movie, I was very glad that I read it. Another way to pick out the books that you might want to read is to spend some time with the book review section of your local newspaper – this can be a great way to spot stinkers.

Once you’ve created a list of books / authors that you’d like to read in order to have your presentations become inspired, the next thing that you need to do is to get your hands on some books. This is actually quite easy to do, but you’ve got to remember that you’ve got a lot of choices. Remember when you used to go to the library as a kid? Well guess what – the library is still there. When was the last time that you went?

Other sources for books include your local used book store (why pay full price?), the local Borders / Barnes & Nobel, and your on-line friend – Amazon. It really doesn’t matter where you get your books from, just make sure that you get them and that you read them! Your audiences will thank you…