Being in the present !

A few days ago,one of my friends asked me about how to reach my goals in this age?

She thought she was not so young to dream and also she had responsibilities to her own family at first priority , rather than follow her dreams.

We tried to clarify all of her responsibilities and her goals together,and ofcourse her priorities,....

We found out something important that is common in most similar situations,where someone is in lack of time,complaining about not being in a desired statues and so on.
Present is a gift which is given to you to be opened and enjoyed.
If you wish to have more effective Time,you need to have more presence.
To be an active listener,you should listen attentively,paraphrase whatever you've heard and ofcourse you should check perceptions.
But how to get all of those skills?
It takes some practices but it's easy.
Have you ever had experience like this: you're going to read something or study an important subject,that's required for of your job,for example.
After openning the book a flood of thoughts comes and make your mind busy to focus on what you are reading.
You've dedicated a time slot for studying but your mind is traveling in the future or the past to solve the problems concerning to the times other than the present.
The useful questions you can ask yourself is:

• Do I need a specific time slot for those problems to be solved?
• What if you make free your mind from anything that's not related to the present issue?
• What gifts might be given to you by being in the present?
• Which tools do you need to have presence?

Through answer to these questions I found myself in the present moment, I dedicated several time slots to different issues of my life and became free of future related stresses, on the other hand I learned to use my time more effectively and above all of these I made practically myself to be an active listener.