When people complain about not having a moment to themselves, I often ask if they live in that moment when they do get one… and usually get a funny look for my trouble.

Taking life for granted is all too common, and when we do, we are missing tiny moments of pure joy every day. We could be having a moment right now.

But instead we say “I’m just too busy”. We focus only on ‘arriving’ and forget about the actual journey while we rush from A to B. We work, come home, make dinner, do the housework, iron, clean, shop, bath the kids; always filling each and every moment, but forgetting all the while we are doing these things to ‘be’ in those individual moments. During our day, we could be gleaning pleasure from many of those tiny moments. They can even make all the difference to raising our overall level of happiness if we practice awareness and living in the moment. We don’t have to become Buddhist monks, meditating all day long, just focus on what we are doing instead of letting our minds race forward to the next chore.

Truly being in the moment is about bringing our awareness into this moment right now, and giving whatever we are doing at any given time our fullest attention. (Even if it is the washing up!)

We all want to be happy, but do we know that happiness is a choice? Happiness isn’t elusive, always just out of our grasp. We say; ”I’d be happy if only I had X Y or Z” but we all have the potential to be happy right now, regardless of what we do or don’t have.

By starting with the tiny moments, we can eventually link them all up into a happier overall existence.

What could you do right now to move your level of happiness up a tiny bit?

Here are some in the moment things I do:

If the sun is shining I open the back door and stand outside barefoot and stretch upwards, arms in the air, looking at the sky, breathing in deeply and listening to the sounds of the day. Only takes seconds but it invigorates me. Standing on grass or stone barefoot in dry weather makes me feel instantly connected to the earth.

Looking at the moon and stars on a clear night, preferably outside.

Thinking of the last thing that made me laugh out loud and allowing myself to laugh all over again. (Not advisable in company unless sharing the story!)

Singing at the top of my voice in the car to a song I love, feeling the happiness bubble up and admiring the scenery. If in a grotty place with no view, stuck in traffic, I look at the sky.

Hugs. If you love someone, hug them. No time like the present!

Duvet moments – If I have our bed to myself for a moment, I roll up in the entire duvet, taking a moment to experience the comfort and softness of the fabric, from my face to my toes!

While I’m washing up or cleansing my crystals I run water over my hands, feeling the temperature and the softness of the water, watching how it plays over my fingers, how it splashes, how the light catches it.

If I notice a bird singing outside my window, I stop and really listen to it.

Meditation. Even 10 mintes a day will make a difference to your ability to let the small stuff go over your head and will increase your sense of calm and wellbeing.

Why not give some of these things a go, and think about your own list!