STNYC: Wellness

by Michelle Tibois

Living Intentionally and in the Present 
By Michelle Tibois

Hey there Sound Thinkers,

The month of March is upon us and I can smell spring approaching. Winter has been great and as much as I enjoy warm fireplaces, snow and hot soup, I am ready for jean jacket weather, spring showers and pretty flowers. Can anyone else relate? Speaking of beautiful things, have you ever been on a hike or at the beach or in a rainforest or a rooftop and become in awe of the beauty in front of you? Well yeah, it’s happened to a lot of us before, but what would it look like to actually live in that moment every single day? To be aware of your surroundings, of the beauty that exists around you, is a perfect way to keep yourself centered. Maya Angelou says, “Be present in all things and thankful for all things.”  To be present is to be actively aware of the world around you, and to live intentionally. Living intentionally can be difficult because we live in such a busy city, where life just passes you by in the blink of an eye, but if we take moments to stop, breathe and listen we can do our bodies and minds a great good. What I’ve learned as a college student who takes six classes, works two jobs, teaches children in church, and is a coordinator in my school club, is that if I don’t take a moment to be present I will be stressed ALL. THE. TIME. Having these moments is necessary to keep me sane and as any professional, student, or human being reading this, we need to be sane for the sake of balancing all the things we do on a daily basis.

Listening to music is one way to practice living in the present. There are moments when I have musical classics playing in the background— classics like, “Boogie Wonderland”, “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” or ‘Living on a Prayer” keep my mood up! Music has a wonderful way of jolting us into existence and bringing us back to reality. Try listening to a new artist this week, and do this while finding a way to be present in your day-to-day tasks.

Here are some ways you can practice living in the present:

1.      Write some notes about how you feel in the moment, pay attention to detail.

2.      Listen to music that makes you feel alive.

3.      Take deep breaths to ground yourself in each moment as form of self-validation.

4.      Say no to thoughts that prevent you from living in the present.

 

In sound thinking,
Michelle

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