In July while I was in the USA I was privileged enough to attend two days of SuperCamp at Colorado College. In 2012 (Australian summer) we will be bringing SuperCamp to Sydney for 14-18 year olds to attend. It is an amazing 10 day journey of personal and academic growth. A wonderful gift for the next generation!
The reason I bring up SuperCamp is to share one of their Keys. During the 10 days they visit 8 Keys (we would call them Presuppositions in NLP land). One of their keys is 
THIS IS IT. Along with the ‘key’ of the day is a 20 minute key-note presentation and then group discussions about what it means. I was in awe and amazed at the meanings these kids got from the message. I think that from time to time adults forget about this. I know that in past posts I’ve written about the importance of knowing where you are going – perhaps not enough emphasis has been given to the Now.
After all, if we only spend time thinking about where we want to be, we just might be missing out on the wonder and beauty of now. Sure, sometimes there is stuff going on that we don’t like in our now – but without being there in the first place, we may miss out on acknowledging something that can be enhanced and we may not be as thankful for the desired state we are reaching out for. I don’t know about you, but I can think of a few days in the past couple of months that my thoughts were anywhere other than that specific day. I was probably floating somewhere in the future – but while I was doing that… what happened to that day? Its gone.
Right here, right now. That is what is real. That is what is happening to us. Of course, our Desired State is important – yet not so important that we should loose sight of what is current. We can’t re-do what we’ve missed. We can’t undo what we did or didn’t do. We can only experience the joys of life, the wins, the love, the highs, the exuberance of life when we are experiencing and associating to now.
Being in the Now also allows us to feel the lows, the pain, the frustration and discomfort that might be present. Without this, we wouldn’t really have a good roadmap to share with us where to go next. I know that if I have discomfort I can do something about it – it is usually my mind/body way to communicate with me. If I’m open enough to be aware, I’ll hopefully be open enough to do something about it.
Besides – we humans have a way of NOT doing things by justifying what it may mean in the future. I don’t mean not thinking about dire consequences – of course we’re going to be ecological in our choices (right?). But if we’re not doing something in the now because it may cause future embarrasement, or you because you don’t want to look silly, sound dumb or be put off by someone.. those are only fabrications of what hasn’t yet happened in the future. So, if in the now it would be a good thing go for it. If you have something to say, say it. If you’re feeling something, feel it. If you want to do something, do it. Go for it. Tell the people around you how much you care about them. Tell your friends what you need from them. Show your boss how good you can be when you go outside the box! Go for it!
From the mouths of babes at SuperCamp I heard remarks like:
- Make each moment count, its all you’ve got!
- You can’t re-live a part of life so live each moment as fully as you can!
- Right now is the moment of your life – live it and experience it.
Again, you will continue to have desired states – and I hope you will take time out of your day to acknowledge the very moments that lead you to tomorrow – Now. So – how about a few tips on how to do this… I invite you to do each of the following twice each day for a couple of minutes each.
- Stop what you are doing and acknowledge what you are thankful for in that moment.
- Take a break from your day and track what you are feeling – emotionally and physically.
- Be quiet for a moment and note what thoughts you are having for the next couple of minutes.
- Take action on what you want in the moment.
Ultimately, its about coming back home, back to now, back to source, back to you. Now. After all, this IS it!