You are not forgetful, you’re just not fully present.

There was a time when I judged myself harshly for being forgetful. 

I kept asking myself, What is wrong with me? Am I stupid? 

I would forget small things, like where I put my car keys, and it made me feel frustrated and embarrassed.

One moment that really stayed with me was when a friend paid me in cash for helping at her café. 

I clearly remember putting the money into my jeans pocket. 

Later, when I was about to pay for something, the money was gone. 

I looked down and saw a $5 note on the ground, but the rest of the cash had disappeared. 

When I checked my jeans, I realised there was a hole in the pocket that I hadn’t noticed. 

The money had simply fallen out, carried away by the wind. 

𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘴𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧.

Even during conversations, I found it hard to concentrate. 

Sometimes, I couldn’t remember what the other person had just said.

𝘐𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘺. 

Looking back, I know it was a mix of stress, anxiety, and lack of sleep. 

My body was tired, and my mind was constantly racing.

That’s when I started learning and practising mindfulness. 

𝙇𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙢𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩.

It wasn’t easy. 

In fact, it took time, because I wasn’t used to slowing down. 

I regularly attended sessions with a meditation teacher to learn how to gently bring my awareness back to the here and now.

Slowly, something changed.

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙄 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙢𝙚, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨.

When my mind wasn’t constantly jumping ahead or replaying the past, my awareness sharpened. 

I felt more grounded and clear.

Most of us live very busy lives, and we rarely pause to truly be here. 

𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳, 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘐 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦?

You can’t remember the drive because your mind was elsewhere, and your body was on autopilot.

So if you’ve been feeling forgetful, please be gentle with yourself. 

It doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with you. 

𝗜𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝘆 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝗲 𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻, 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴. 💕