Living in the Moment – Really?
Rachel Strachan is a Reiki Master, Mindset Coach, and Sound Healer who brings over 20 years of experience with insights from her own healing journey. She creates supportive spaces for both people and animals, offering practical yet powerful tools to help restore balance and reconnect you with your authentic self.
Whether it’s the loss of a job, a relationship, a friendship, or the death of someone we love, life has a way of reminding us that it’s precious and should never be taken for granted. And yet, once the dust of change settles, so often we slip back into old habits, almost as if we’ve forgotten.
Why is that? Are we living more in our history than in the now? Holding on to big and small traumas, replaying the emotions and the thoughts that come with them, until they feel like they’re still happening today?
The truth is, our brains and bodies don’t always know the difference between memory and reality. You can test this yourself: close your eyes and imagine your favourite food sitting right in front of you. Picture the smell, the texture, the taste, the feeling of it in your mouth. Did you notice yourself start to salivate? Maybe even a tummy rumble? That reaction happened just from imagination.
This is exactly how the body recalls moments, good and bad. Every time we focus on a sad or painful memory, the body responds as though it’s happening in that moment.
The opposite can also be true, recalling joy, love, or laughter can bring those feelings flooding back, too. But sadly, we live in a culture where fear and tragedy dominate the headlines. With 24-hour news, constant notifications,
and a steady stream of negativity, we’re kept in a perpetual state of fear.
But what if we truly focused on the now? Animals are some of our best teachers here. They don’t sit worrying about yesterday or fretting about tomorrow, they’re simply present. And thankfully, they don’t have access to the internet!
If we turned off the TV, silenced notifications, listened only to music we truly loved, and chose comedies over doom and gloom, our vibration would rise. Our frequency would shift. And with that, we’d attract more of the same light, joy, and connection.
Science now backs this up. This isn’t “woo woo” anymore, it’s well-documented. So why do so many of us struggle? Because stepping into happiness and presence requires intentional effort. It means leaving behind the familiar comfort of old patterns, even when those patterns hurt. It means facing discomfort, breaking limiting beliefs, and choosing new ways of thinking and being. It’s not easy. And life will still bring pain, loss, and challenges often.
In the past month, I have lost both my godmother and my cousin, who was only 39. Two heartbreaks in such a short space of time. The grief has been raw and heavy. I’ve let myself feel it fully, the shock, the sadness, the waves of emotion. Too often, we mask our truth with an “I’m fine.” But “fine” isn’t real, it’s just a tightrope we balance on, anywhere between “just about coping” and “not okay at all.”
By giving myself permission to cry, to feel, and to sit in those emotions, I’ve started to process. It doesn’t mean I’ll simply move on with a smile, but I will hold onto the love and happy memories. Because grief is love with nowhere to go, and it’s proof of how deeply we cared.
So maybe “living in the moment” isn’t about always being happy or positive. It’s about being present with whatever is here now, whether that’s joy or heartbreak. It’s allowing emotions to flow, instead of burying them. It’s choosing to honour the love, the laughter, and even the tears, as part of what makes us human.
That, to me, is what it means to live in the moment.
Read more from Rachel Strachan
Rachel Strachan, Life Coach & Wellness Practitioner
Rachel Strachan is a Reiki Master, Mindset Coach, and Sound Healer with over two decades of experience supporting others on their wellbeing journey. Her own transformation journey has given her deep compassion and understanding, allowing her to connect authentically with each person with whom she works. Through her thoughtful blend of energy work and mindset coaching, Rachel creates space for healing that gets to the root of stress, builds genuine confidence, and helps people reconnect with who they really are. She also works with animals and offers sound healing sessions, believing in the power of gentle, holistic approaches to create meaningful change. When she’s not working, you’ll find her spending time in nature or with her animals.
