Staying In The Present Moment

For years, I have read and heard a lot about learning to stay in the Present moment. I’ve heard how important it is and that it will change my life, staying in the Present will bring me Peace, I will never experience another reaction, and my life will be like living in a constant state of meditation. Lately, I’ve been thinking about the Present moment and my husband, Jeff, made a good point; it was a “Duh” kind of moment. Jeff said, “Every moment is in the past.” If you think about it, as most of us experience life, this is a true statement. What we view with our eyes does not immediately register as a thought. After the sight is interpreted by our brain, the moment is already in the past even if it continues to happen in our perception of the present.
So, after spending some time thinking about this conundrum, I realized meditation is what helps me come to the Present. In the beginning, my mind was a little chatter box and I continually had to pull it back to the chant or breath. But, as I get better at monitoring my mind, I find moments where my mind is silent. For me, the silent moments sometimes bring thought as well:  either an observance that my mind is silent or my mind begins to have images flow through it and I begin to notice those images. I realize that my mind is not silent once I notice the silence or when I notice the images because I start trying to make sense of them. I also know there will come a time where I will be able to let nothing or something flow through my mind and not have any thought about it at all. That moment will be when I start learning how to live in the Present. Peace comes from the silence of the mind. In the silence of the mind, there is only acknowledgement but no judgment or thought about what flows through the mind. I can also see where living in the Present will reduce the amount of talking I will do. If I have no thought about what happens around me, I really have no thought about commenting on it or feelings of wanting to change anything. I can see where this brings about Peace.
I have recently begun to see that I may achieve some semblance of Presence at some point in time. I have been able to reduce the noise in my mind considerably, especially when I am in a meditative state. I also notice the noise reduction when around people; there have even been times when someone has expected me to say something and I am completely unable to think of anything to say because I truly have no thoughts or feelings about the subject. I finally realized I could say, “I have no thoughts to share on that subject.” Interestingly, some response seems to be enough and the other person is able to continue and feel satisfied. I do find myself wondering where all this will lead. I had thought I knew where my life was heading but it seems to be taking a new direction or maybe this is part of the direction where I thought I was heading. Interestingly, I find myself completely at ease with whatever happens and I am enjoying the journey for probably the first time in my life.
The journey (process) has always been so difficult for me, in the past, because I felt myself wanting to get through it faster and reach my goal. I wanted to avoid the pitfalls and develop my understanding without spending time learning through failures. Now, I don’t see anything as a failure. It is all part of the process and necessary for my understanding and learning. How can I help others if I never experience any of the things someone else might experience? I find myself excited to reach my first hour where I am completely in the Present. I chose an hour because I don’t think I’ll notice the first 15 or 30 minutes. I think it will take almost an hour before I realize I’ve been completely Present for a span of time. Of course the realization will take me out of the Present but that’s part of the process.
Do any of you meditate?