Staying Present

How often do you think about where you are in time?

I had a strange moment of de ja vu as I was driving to class this morning. It was after I’d heard on a podcast that Osteopathic physicians are more likely to feel fulfilled and practice into old age. Suddenly I felt like an older version of my crone was sitting in the car with me, laughing and sputtering bittersweet tears at this moment in time where I was still so fresh and young, about to enter medical school, with my entire life in medicine still ahead of me.

I looked back at the moment I applied to this medical school while still living in Georgia and how I’d inexplicably burst into tears reading the word “Yakima” on a truck… like my body already knew that’s where I’d end up, like part of me was already out there.

With infinite minds and spirits, it’s easy to get lost in moments of both the past and future. Heck, I got a little gung-ho myself and started leaning a little too forward into the future when I decided I wanted to try out my new “Student Doctor Lomo” identity on twitter [don’t worry, that’ll come back in August, hehe]!

It’s easy to get stuck in the past or the future and forget about the present moment. Traumatic memories make us fear the future, nostalgia makes us pine for simpler times, anxiety over the future blocks us from present peace, and even overexcitement for the future can get in the way of today.

When I noticed myself jumping a little ahead of myself this past month, I took some time to honor my excitement but to ultimately re-center myself into the present moment. When we’re passionate about something, sometimes it tries to come out all at once. I got into medical school, but I’m not a medical student yet… and though there’s an aspect of me that can’t wait, there’s also an aspect of me that needs to enjoy this present moment—the calm before the storm.

Do yourself a favor and have a check-in with yourself. Where is your spirit dwelling the most? The past? The future? How much of you is fully anchored in this present moment? If there’s any aspect of you that’s not currently in this present moment, take a moment to breathe and reset… reintegrate into this moment. This is how we get from point A to point B in our lives, by grasping one chain of destiny at a time. One foot in front of the other. Honoring each moment we are gifted in the present.