I started meditating and making an effort to incorporate yoga into my life a few months ago. It's led me to realize how much time I spend plotting out future paths, many of which I either have little control over at this moment, or I have no idea if I will actually want to pursue them when the time comes. I'm trying to shift my focus to the present moment. This means when I start thinking about the future I first try to refocus myself on the present. If that doesn't quite work, I try to shift my focus from what I am going to do in the future to what I can do in the present to ensure that I have options for the future. I believe that the biggest thing I can do right now is to begin to simplify my life on all levels. I am working to reduce the clutter in my life (physical and mental), and to simplify my finances. I'm focusing on paying off my debt. Focusing on breathing and yoga and meditation. It's a process, of course, but I am beginning to see progress.

My inspiration to write this evening actually came from this blog post from Zen Habits about how to transform anxiety into inspiration. It was actually written by Mary Jaksch of Goodlife Zen. This post was particularly refreshing to me because it reminded me of exactly why I began meditating and embracing yoga: to learn how to live in the present and control the irritation and knee-jerk reactions my own anxiety causes. I'm not quite there yet, but I see improvements all the time.