HOW TO FOCUS

I read two things recently that seem to have a lot in common and provided me some intriguing insights. The first dealt with yoga and meditation as a means of de-stressing. Of course, although it takes many years of practice to become proficient, something in the article triggered. It mentioned the art of "being in the moment". Being in the "now" not five minutes before or ten minutes later, but enjoying the feeling of right this second and focusing on what is happening right now.

Easier said than done but something worth pursuing. Have you ever driven the same route every day and realized you remember nothing you noticed on the trip but were all about the destination. That is the point, and apparently acts as a major calming influence.

Being on the Atkins treadmill recently I monitor what I eat closely. However I still need those minor indulgences to avoid homicide. I took time to focus on eating a Hershey's Dark Chocolate Truffle. Admired the shiny golden orange wrapper; unwrapped and examined the deep rich brown and incredible aroma of cocoa; popped the candy in my mouth and totally let the rich flavors fill my mouth (important to close your eyes to focus at this point). HMMMMMMM

Second event. I just finished reading several posts at the Sandbox which is a webmail address sponsored by doonesbury.com for American service men and women to post their unedited and uncensored thoughts. These are people speaking directly from the war zones. Some were tragic, some humorous, some sad. Some were well written and some were just written from the heart. However they all had one thing in common-they were powerful observations from people doing an unimaginable job.

The ease of electronics has allowed these war-driven missives to impact thousands of people instantly and I encourage people to check it out. Anyway, what do these two topics have in common. If you really want to understand the concept of living in the moment go to war! There is no question that these people's very survival depends upon their focusing on the here and now for their very lives and they already know their thoughts of yesterday as well as their dreams of tomorrow will reveal themselves at the appropriate time.....