Living for the Weekend

It never ceases to amaze me how many people live their life for the weekend. In doing so, not only do they miss out on the here and now throughout the week, but they put so much pressure on themselves (and those around them) to have an unforgettable Friday and Saturday night. Today is only Tuesday, but do you find your own mind already inching towards the weekend?

Mindfulness means to be present and meditation is simply the very best way of developing the necessary awareness to be mindful. When you sit to meditate you begin to short-circuit that tendency to mentally run away with thoughts, to constantly look to the future in an attempt to get away from the present, or to imagine a life more exciting than the everyday routine of the working week.

I’d be the first to admit that the weekend is a wonderful concept, and having the time to do the things we love to do and to meet up friends is a very big part of that. But if we spend the first few days of each week thinking about the past weekend and the last few days of each week thinking about the next weekend, then we are essentially sacrificing two thirds of our life - a third to memories, events that have already happened, been and gone...and a third to hypothetical fantasies of how things might play out in the future.

The very best nights are rarely those that have been planned in advance. They are usually the ones that are spontaneous, where you meet the moment without any preconditions or expectations and simply embrace the moment. So next time you catch the mind sneaking off to thoughts of next weekend, catch yourself and, bringing the attention back to whatever you’re doing, remind yourself of the inherent value of each and every moment, no matter what name of the week you give it.

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