Harnessing the Power of the Present Moment
Andreea, a health coach, started her journey with me in a state of overwhelming anxiety, desperately seeking something more fulfilling than her current reality. Trapped in a maze of ‘knowing,’ she devoted all her energy to figuring out the 'how to,' trying to master her understanding of time. She was caught up in a relentless game with time, which left her breathless, as if she was constantly borrowing from her future, and leaving her present moment barren.
Andreea tried every day to reclaim this borrowed time, investing it entirely in the crucial, but often overlooked task of living in the present. Every moment was carefully shaped into a sand painting of her idealized 'better' future. This vision, fueled by her anxiety, was nothing more than a mirage. As she clung more tightly to her perceived leash of time, it began to constrict her, leaving her starved of the refreshing air of the present moment. Instead of restful sleep she experienced bouts of exhaustion-induced unconsciousness, her mind consumed with dreams of an elusive future.
Like many others, Andreea could not see the many opportunities presented to her by the very next conversation or interaction. She hurried past these precious moments, barely acknowledging them, her eyes fixated on the illusion of a 'better' future. She found herself lost amid fear-based plans which obstructed her ability to harness the power of the present moment.
This is where our transformative journey had to take a different direction. I advised Andreea to replace 'knowing' with 'choosing.' Although this change seemed small, it sparked a significant transformation in her. She found herself not in a battle, but in a high-stakes game against her suffocating, limiting beliefs, with time as the most formidable opponent. As she played this game, every move towards 'choosing' over 'knowing' caused her adversary to retreat further until it eventually surrendered. Time, once a daunting adversary, exited the game leaving her with a doorway full of opportunities.
Andreea's coyote was her belief that she didn't know what to do or who to call. It intruded upon her time, creating a mirage of disorientation. When she chose to let go of 'knowing' and embrace 'choosing,' she experienced a newfound sense of control over time. The art of choosing did not require the past, the present, or the future. It provided a playful and freeing approach to managing time, a path for those who play the game, not linear, but dynamic.
She discovered that she could dance without first learning how to walk, sing without needing to talk, and shoo away her metaphorical coyote not by being a warrior, but by being the one who chose to play the game. Her only requirement was to make a choice.
During our numerous sessions together we sifted through her past emails and communications, choosing 20 people for her to call. Andreea chose to step into the game and make those calls. Each conversation led to more interactions, each engagement unlocked further opportunities. She informed me that she had acquired two, then three, and eventually four new clients.
This was the power of choosing - a power often overshadowed and buried beneath the mountains of 'knowing,' left unused until there were no choices remaining. Once unleashed it has the potential to revolutionize our understanding of time, guiding us to a realm of endless possibilities and to the pleasure of fully living in the present.
Andreea’s journey serves as a lighthouse of hope, a testament to the potency of choosing. It narrates how a simple shift in perspective can free us from the constraints of time and open up a world teeming with infinite possibilities. Choosing isn't merely about making decisions; it's about reclaiming our lives, taking charge of our destinies and embracing the power of now. After all, life is not about the 'how to'; it's about the 'choose to'.
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