by Chiara Spagnoli

Created on: February 11, 2009   Last Updated: June 29, 2009

Planning for tomorrow is part of the animal nature of human beings. After all, lots of mammals plan for their "rainy days", storing food for the winter. Even less evolute forms of life, such as ants, just do it.

But often we confuse "planning for tomorrow" with "worrying about tomorrow". There's a fine distinction between the two, and learning how to "live in the moment" can help re-establish our equilibrium, and cancel our stress.

The main source of stress, due to the ugly state of the world economy, is money. Carefully planning is in order, when dealing with it, but worrying about the future is not helping us live better now. It's just adding stress!

Learning to live in the moment is mostly a matter of reconnecting with one's senses. It means learning to appreciate the pleasure that comes from things that surround us.

Start from your five senses. Even better, start from the most instinctive one: touch. Concentrate on the feeling the contact with an object gives you. Is it soft, hard? Does touching it gives you pleasure? You'll re-discover the beauty of touching a light silk, dipping your hands in rice, or flour, hugging and touching a loved one.

Then smell. Can you think of a smell that reminds of a happy moment? May be something that happened when you were a kid? The smell of tangerine will always remind me of winters around the fireplace with my parents and grandparents. When I smell tangerine, it's difficult for me to concentrate on what will expect me tomorrow at work. I am here, in the now, enjoying the feeling this smell brings me. Try finding some happy smells, or create beautiful memories for yourself, that can be brought back with a scent. It'll help you detach yourself from worries and feel at peace with the world!

Taste is similar to smell. Find something you really appreciate. Concentrate on its taste while you savor it. It can be dark chocolate, a ripe, tasty fruit, a piece of great cheese. It shouldn't necessarily be costly, or unhealthy!

View is a sense that can be very helpful in achieving balance and mindedness. Look at the mountains, the sea, the sunset. They are so still and beautiful. They will be there tomorrow, and for years to come. Whatever happens tomorrow, that hill will be there for your viewing pleasure. Why worry?

Listening to music is one of the most relaxing activities available to an human being. Music is the opposite of a landscape: it's so beautiful because it doesn't last, it disappears as soon as it is generated. Just follow the flow of the music, and again, your thoughts will settle for a while. Follow the flow is the keyword in this exercise

Planning for the future should not be an impediment for the appreciation of the beauty of what surrounds us. Whether in the desert or in a big city, beauty is all around. Just stopping for a moment to appreciate it will bring us back to the present moment. Real pleasures are free, and always available, whatever is happening in the world.

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