Present
Moment
“...I
can't be contented with yesterday's glory, I can't live on promises
winter to spring.
Today
is my moment, now is my story, I'll laugh and I'll cry and I'll
sing.”
John
Denver (“Today”)
Do
you remember this old song from the last century? (Sounds so strange
to say that, but here we are, mid-way through the second decade of
the 21st century.) The song begins, “Today while the
blossoms still cling to the vine, I'll taste your strawberries, I'll
drink your sweet wine. A million tomorrows shall all pass away, 'ere
I forget all the joy that is mine, today.” It is a song about
living in the present moment, savoring its sweetness and moving on to
the next day as brand new. The song has been playing, unbidden, in
my head since the year turned, so I'm paying attention as much to
send it on its way as anything else.
I
have to say, however, that the message resonates with me, especially
at the new year. I think of how nice it would be to wake up each
morning of 2016, and face the day afresh, without the baggage of
yesterday. Wouldn't it be wonderful to begin every day without all the
disappointments and sorrows of the days that came before. This day
can't promise not to have its own, but they will be new ones. And its
joys will be fresh and memorable—at least they would be if we lived
fully in each moment. Attention to detail is critical in this
process. Using all of our senses in each interaction—tasting and
smelling what we eat, listening, touching and actually feeling what
is beneath our hands, seeing everything around us, including the very
familiar—this is how we stay centered in the now.
Being
fully present is so rare because of our thinking brains. They are
like red rubber balls that bounce in all directions, and send us off,
chasing. At least, mine is that way. Focusing on details, even when
doing something ordinary, something so familiar that your hands can
do one thing while your brain does another, is critical to living in
the present. Especially in these days of cell phone obsession, we
have to be very intentional about focusing with our entire body/mind.
I watched a clip on the news last night about the increased hazard of
“distracted walking!” Perhaps you saw it, too. People walking
into traffic, falling off subway platforms, falling into fountains,
or plowing into other people while staring at their cell phones has
introduced an entirely new injury profile.
Today,
let's practice of living in the moment. Just managing it for ten
minutes is probably a stretch, but it's worth doing. Living fully in
each moment is one way to savor the richness of being human.
In
the Spirit,
Jane
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