Being in the moment: Learning to be with our aliveness

When I was in 7th grade, something profound related to love and life happened in math class.

It was my first embodiment experience.

Being in the moment can lead to such beauty

I was sitting across from a guy I was friends with and had known for years. He was talking about something, and I was only semi-engaged. I was—and still am—a daydreamer, so I was probably about to zone out when suddenly, he looked different. His face became almost like an illusion. It was as if I was seeing him for the first time.

His nose, skin, and features looked so beautiful—clear, like cool blue Caribbean water. It was as if I’d never seen a nose before. His eyes were deeply alive. His mouth was the strangest thing I’d ever seen. How could this thing be producing sound and moving so intricately? I realized I’d been looking at his face for years and had never truly seen him.

It wasn’t attraction. I wasn’t drawn to him in that way. It just happened to be him sitting there when I was able to fully take in what I was with in the world.

We are always with something. And when we’re in our heads—daydreaming, caught up in the details of a story, or lost in our own internal narratives—we don’t allow our eyes to truly take in the beauty of this diverse world.

Who is the next person you will see? Can you try to truly SEE them?

Ever since then, I try to tune into a person’s face. To really tune in is to pause all the other noise, both within and around us. Embodiment is the ability to be with what is here, in any given moment. It’s like shining a bright light into clear blue water—and then using a high-powered microscope to take in all that is alive beneath the surface.

When I look at my three-year-old, lying next to me in bed as I write this, everything about her—the way she holds the remote with three fingers, gently tapping it against her leg, the slight movements of her eyes, the profile of her porcelain skin against the grey pillow, her nose forming a perfect triangle from this angle—only exists in this moment.

This exact point in time.

Being in the moment: Real life art

It is the most beautiful real-life painting. And if you don’t pay attention, you miss it.

Being embodied is taking in these paintings with all your senses—sight, smell, touch—but also with your complete and total absorption, as if you’re standing in an art museum studying every stroke of the artist’s brush.

When I looked at my friend that day in class, I saw him. And although it wasn’t attraction in the typical sense—I want to be precise here—it did give me a profound sense of love for him as a human. I felt immense love in that moment.

I was connected to the energy of his aliveness. The energetic field of the heart extends feet from the body. I wasn’t only seeing him in detail; I was also sensing the abstract perfection of his existence. He was a living, breathing, thinking organism—talking, processing, existing in space that connected to my own heart’s energetic field.

The wonder of the world hit me all at once.

Embodiment is essential to fully living

Embodiment is also an appreciation for the moment we are currently in. There is no other moment but this one. Nothing else exists yet, and everything that has passed is gone forever. We can choose how the past lives on in the present.

When we slow down and place laser-sharp attention on the details of someone or something else, we open the moment into something more intimate and alive. Novelty returns. Beauty sharpens. And we gain a little more space from emotional reactivity that can otherwise feel overwhelming.

It’s a continual practice—one I still struggle with and always will—because stressors are always acting upon us, but I try to intentionally activate this attention whenever I can: when I’m with my kids, smelling delicious food, touching another person, and even in my work. I try to fully hone in on my clients.

This makes life feel more alive. It seems to last longer. And it supports my ability to meet whatever emotions arise.

Go ahead—give it a try, beautiful friend.

Need support in connecting to the present moment? Your body or aliveness? Check out my embodiment coaching options. I'd love to support you.