Posted in inspiration, life, life experience

Choosing Presence

Posted on by affirmationofvisions

Today marks day three of a quiet but powerful decision I made as this year began: to live with intention.

For most of my life, I’ve lived ahead of time. My mind has often rushed forward, planning, anticipating, worrying about moments that haven’t arrived yet. Somewhere along the way, that habit turned into anxiety. A few weeks before the year ended, a simple truth settled into me: faith and fear cannot coexist equally. Neither can faith and anxiety. One always dominates the other.

And the only place faith can truly live is in the present.

So I started journaling at night. Not to analyze my future or solve tomorrow’s problems, but to reflect. I write what happened during the day, then I write how I felt about it. That’s all. No projections. No what-ifs. Just what was, and what is. That small shift has been grounding in a way I didn’t expect, it gently pulls me out of my head and back into the moment I’m actually living.

This morning, I woke up with that familiar tightness, subtle anxiety, no clear reason why. Instead of spiraling, I reminded myself of my intention: stay present. Live today as it unfolds. I didn’t have a plan. I didn’t force structure. I simply allowed the day to be.

And it was beautiful.

As I reflected tonight, I realized how effortlessly the day flowed. I enjoyed every piece of it. What struck me most was recognizing that there was a time in my life when a day like this would have overwhelmed me. A time when being exactly where I was, surrounded by the people I was with, would have triggered anxiety instead of peace. Back then, this moment would have felt heavy.

Today, it felt light. Easy. Free.

That’s why 2026 excites me, not because I know what’s coming, but because I know how I’m choosing to experience it. If life has always managed to work out even when my heart carried anxiety, I can only imagine how much more aligned it will feel now that I’ve made a conscious decision to stop worrying about things that haven’t happened yet.

One day, I’ll read back on these journal entries and see the growth I can’t fully measure right now. I don’t know where life will take me, but I do know this:

January 3, 2026 was a genuinely beautiful day.
And I’m grateful I honored it with intention.

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Author:

Hi, I’m Mercy. Life has taken me through many seasons, some beautiful, some painful, and many that reshaped me in ways I never could have planned. Over a decade ago, I began writing as a way to survive a difficult chapter of my life. Since then, my journey has expanded, deepened, and taken more turns than I ever imagined. Today, my children are adults, and I find myself in a new season, one of reflection, intention, and rediscovery. I’m no longer building life from the ground up, but rather learning how to live it with presence and purpose. This space has evolved with me. What I write about now isn’t about chasing happiness or manifesting a perfect future. It’s about learning how to stay grounded in the present. It’s about faith over fear, gratitude over anxiety, and choosing intention in a world that constantly pulls us in every direction. It’s about growth, real, imperfect, human growth. I’ve learned that life doesn’t move in straight lines. It loops, pauses, reroutes, and sometimes asks us to begin again, just from a wiser place. Writing has remained my anchor through all of it. It helps me slow down, make sense of my thoughts, and reconnect with what matters most. This blog is a collection of reflections from someone still becoming. I don’t write as an expert or a coach with all the answers. I write as a woman who has lived, learned, stumbled, healed, and continues to choose intention, one day at a time. If you’re here, maybe you’re in a season of your own, letting go, starting over, or simply learning how to breathe a little deeper. Wherever you are, I hope these words remind you that growth doesn’t have an expiration date, and peace is something we practice, not something we arrive at. I’m glad you found your way here.

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