Living in the Moment
“We must not allow the clock and the calendar to blind us to the fact that
each moment of life is a miracle and mystery.” ~ H. G. Wells.
There are so many times that I have caught myself living outside of the moment. I’m sure you can relate to this experience—it seems to be the way of our hectic, over-extended, and rushed lifestyle in America.
I know that I have frequently been one place, yet thinking about how I need or want to be somewhere else. The clock ticks and schedules beckon me to handle the next task of the day. Remaining committed to a to-do-list or even an extremely, well-organized calendar of appointments can cause anyone to no longer live in the moment.
But I wonder, is living in the moment all that it’s cracked up to be? I mean aren’t we supposed to organize, plan, and prepare for the future? If we’re not thinking about the future, how can we possibly be efficient, productive, and responsible?
Hmm, then it occurred to me. Maybe life shouldn’t always be so well-laid out that we forget to see the beauty of spontaneity. Maybe relaxing and living in the moment creates a freedom that makes us able to respond and creatively handle the next challenge. Maybe living in the moment allows us to really love life.
Children do it—they live in the moment. When they’re at play nothing gets in the way. What a gift! My 13-year old daughter, Siena, reminds me that each moment should be enjoyed. It’s like children are old souls filled with knowledge here to teach us adults (who think we know better) that living in the moment will bring peace.
And so, I try every day. No, I am definitely not always successful at it. I took off my watch a few weeks ago because I read somewhere that leaving it behind on the dresser would give me a liberated feeling. The first day I removed my watch, I must have glanced down at my wrist a dozen or more times, only to see that the time read: a freckle past a hair. But it did create a feeling of freedom, until I remembered that my cellular telephone has a clock on it. Old habits die hard!
Yes, living in the moment is all that—if you can get connected with the moment because they pass rather quickly. Sometimes I try to hold on to a particular moment that was really wonderful. Or I try to get rid of an awful moment; however, I find both kinds pass quickly. So it seems to me that creating understanding and relishing each moment for what it has to offer—both good and bad—is really what life is all about.
The more we live in the moment the better we get at being present and handling all situations. Someone very smart said, “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” ~ Anne Frank.
Related posts:
