Sweet Moments 101- Right Here, Right Now

Have you ever heard of ”Here now, gone tomorrow”?

Well, it doesn’t work this way with Sweet Moments. It’s more like ”Here now, gone just-a-bit-after now”.

Have you ever had a really good dessert? Has it occurred to you that you should or could enjoy the dessert later, say, 5 minutes after eating it? I don’t mean eat it later- just enjoy it later. Do the eating part first, but enjoy it 5 minutes after you eat it.

Sounds silly, doesn’t it?

The same principal goes with Sweet Moments. After defining Sweet Moments, and noticing them, you should enjoy them right away! There’s no reason to postpone enjoying the good feeling the Sweet Moment provides, even if you have a bad case of procrastination!

The sweet moment won’t last forever. Sweet moments, by definition are only ‘moments’. Hence the name, etc. Whether you enjoy them or not, they’ll pass. It’ll be such a waste to let them go without enjoying them.

When you notice a Sweet Moment, take a deep breathe, clear you mind for 1-3 seconds of all other thoughts, smile and take a mental note- a Sweet Moment. You are free to enjoy that moment no matter how the rest of your day turned out. A moment in time, an island of sweetness, all for you to enjoy. And it’s OK to enjoy a moment in time. Don’t feel bad about it. Even if you don’t feel like you deserve to feel good right now, It’ll only take a few seconds, so indulge! Give yourself a break from feeling bad and enjoy the moment. It’ll bring some sunshine into your mind, and with that light you’ll be able to see things more clearly.

That’s probably the hardest part of this crash course. To let go of other not-so-sweet moments, and indulge for a second or more only in sweetness, is a hard work. It’s a tiny meditation that requires a lot of concentration. But, as with physical workout, mental workout gets easier once you get into a routine of a workout. Sure, you need to push yourself a bit more every time, but getting into a habit of doing so and being willing to work hard and keep at it, is the biggest breakthrough.

Work on it for few days and you’ll see it gets easier with time 🙂

Sweet Moments 101- Attention!

After defining your sweet moments, pay attention and notice when they arrive.

It may sound obvious, but it’s not so. How many times have you had a quiet moment all by yourself, had some sweets, saw flowers blooming, ate something good, smelled something good, and didn’t stop to enjoy the moment? How many times have you passed by those flowers without paying attention to the beautiful color or fragrance? How many times have you tasted the sweetness of the dessert but forgot that you enjoy them and therefor can eat slowly and smile to yourself while doing so? There’s a difference between thinking about that a certain fragrance is nice and agreeing with you, and thinking ”Oh! Wow! That fragrance is really nice!” with at least a tad of excitement.

In order to enjoy Sweet Moments, you need first to be able to notice them. Pay attention to moments in life, and keep in mind that when Sweet Moments arrive, there’s something you need to do- enjoy them! It’s like collecting the gold coins in a game- you have to be able to notice the gold coins, because if you can’t see them, you won’t be able to collect them.

So pay attention and make sure to notice the Sweet Moments as they come.

Sweet Moments 101 – Define Your Sweet Moments

Define ‘Sweet Moments’.

What does it mean to you?

When I’m talking about ‘moments’, that’s exactly what I mean- a moment in time. Nothing like a huge raise, a job promotion, a great deal on a car, or even marrying your beloved.

Just a moment of something sweet. Moments that if we don’t pay attention to them, will pass us by, with potential happiness gone to waste.

So what does it mean to you? Define your own sweet moments. Do it in writing if it’s too hard to think about such moments. Even if you haven’t mastered the art of enjoying those moments, it’s important that you define those moments first, to make sure you know what you like and what you can enjoy right now. When a moment gets tagged as a sweet moment, it’s easier to learn how to enjoy it, and use that moment to relieve some stress.

Here’s a sample of my sweet moments, moments I enjoy, not in order of importance. Some are everyday moment, some are not. I enjoy a lot of other things, but I tried to have on the list things that are a moment in time. Note- most of them are not about a sense of accomplishment, or something of that sort.

Happy kids, laughing and smiling

Crocheting (what a stress reliever!)

Finishing projects fast (usually crochet or sewing)

Finally finishing projects that took too long

A shower with a fragrant soap

The smell of freshly baked anything-with-cinnamon

The smell of bread being baked

The smell of coriander

Tea ( English Breakfast in the morning with a bit of sugar and milk, Earl Grey, or Jasmine tea are some of my favorites)

Black bean brownies

Chocolate (that’s an easy one, but I had to add it…)

Shiny sinks

 

 

 

 

Sweet Moments 101- Introduction

What is Sweet Moments 101 about?

Sweet moments are the moments that are there for you every day, waiting for you to notice them and enjoy them. Those are moments that can turn into islands of bliss in a chaotic day.

Sweet Moments 101 intends on introducing you to the world of sweet moments, learn how to recognize them, and how to enjoy them.

If you don’t understand why there’s a need to learn this- great! Just keep on the good work!

If you do think there’s a need to learn this- great! You found a tutorial! ^_^

I don’t intend on explaining how to be happy 24/7, because I am not like that, but I can recommend some books. Nevertheless, finding sweet moments in life can change your whole day, your mood, and your way of life. Focusing on what’s good in your everyday life can change your perception of things happening to you, and keep the bad/ unpleasant/ unwanted things in proportions. Do you know the feeling of unkind words that were aimed at you, and the hunting feeling that lasted more than 10x the time the bad experience lasted? Have you ever stopped to think why is it you don’t enjoy a good experience for a long time, proportionally (= 10x the time it actually lasted)? Not that I have a satisfying answer for that, but paying attention to what we focus on, helps with learning how to improve our daily life.

Be prepared for some hard mental work. There are always excuses to not enjoy a sweet moment, and it may seem silly and not important, but keep working on it and you’ll see the difference. It’s hard work, but a brief one. Start slowly, and continue in your own pace.

I don’t plan on making class 102, because that should be your practice, your hands-on experience in daily life.