Mowing my lawn takes about an hour. The back yard usually takes 45 minutes and the front yard 15 minutes. I start with the back and move to the front. I’ve been noticing lately that although the front yard is about 1/4 the size of the back yard, it seems to always take longer to mow the front.

How weird, I thought. But upon reflection it is a great example about how our expectations shape our reality, and living in the present is the path toward peacefulness.

When I’m mowing the backyard, I expect it to take a long time, and thus am not thinking toward the future. I just go about the mowing business taking one step at a time. I’m involved in the process. But when I get to the front yard, I know I’m close to being done. Rather than taking it one step at a time, I’m thinking about the future (being done). I’m letting time drag me down – I’m putting a barrier between my mind and body.

It’s the same principle that occurs to make time go by fast when you are having fun and slowly when you are not.

It’s really a simple concept. Live in the present and time disappears. Live in the future and time drags you down.

For me the difficulty is putting the concept into practice. Anxiety is the key. It’s my signal that I’m not living in the present – that my mind and body are not aligned.

How about you? How do you “remind” yourself to live in the present?

Timothy Velner is a husband, father, attorney and author living in Minneapolis. You can follow his daily blog – a series of discussions between the worry-self and the present-self at – thespiritualgym.me