Latching on to distractions. This is perhaps the most habitual and frequent strategy we use to escape the present.

The key phrase in this poem is “a gentle mental nudge.” Whenever you catch yourself in a state of absence, employing one of the strategies described above, give yourself a gentle mental nudge back into the present, as the poem describes.

Unnecessary activity. Do you find yourself doing things simply to fill empty spaces of time? Do you engage in household chores that don’t really need to be done or work extra hours in your job because you don’t know what to do with your leisure time? If so, you’re using doing as an escape from being. You’re trying to flee the present by immersing

Be aware of yourself as the witness of these processes, observing and allowing them to take place without identifying with them.

We are rarely present to our surroundings or our experience. Our bodies are always present, of course, occupying physical space and interacting with the environment. (This is why — as we will see later — bringing your attention into the body is such an effective way of cultivating presence.)

Where is my story right now? Where are my achievements? Where is my success or status? Where are my failures and losses? Where are my painful memories? Where are my ambitions for the future? None are here. They are not part of the present, because they are unreal abstractions. All that exists right now is your experience of the present moment,

Rushing. This is a variant of looking forward to the future, applied to activity. Of course, rushing is sometimes necessary in our hectic modern lives. But you may find yourself rushing even when you don’t need to, when you have ample time to spare and no appointments or deadlines to meet.

The most important thing is to direct gratitude toward the experiences we are having at any particular moment.

The thought mind is very powerful, like a dictator who has taken complete control of your identity. Like all dictators, it doesn’t relinquish power easily.