The Moment Is Now

One of the best ways to ruin a day is to rush it to its end.  How often have you heard someone say, “I can’t wait until it’s Friday!” - and it’s only Tuesday?  That wishing-for-the-weekend mentality, when there remains dozens of excellent hours left in your week, is not only poor thinking, but an unhealthy way to live.

I write this post on the lanai of a Maui condo, the Pacific’s soothing purr serenading me, the trades flitting the tips of the palm trees gently massaging my brain, my soul, my essence.

What could possibly upset my mood? (besides, of course, the guy in the condo next door, constantly clearing his nose and throat - or is that an imitation of a constipated seal?)…anyway, where was I?

Living in the moment.



That’s not to say that all moments are ones that we relish living in, but they are our moments, good or bad, breathtaking or prosaic; ours nonetheless.  And ours that need to be embraced each and every day.

A few days ago, while sipping a refreshing beverage at an ocean-side establishment, sun-soaked and so relaxed it hurt, the familiar refrain of stress and irritation associated with my mainland job somehow nettled its way into my mind.  They can be persistent, pesky little irksome imps, these stressors.  My aloha spirit suddenly shifted with the speed of a nearby jet ski racing along the water.

I mentioned this to my wife, and she gave me a look that only nearly twenty years of coexistence can clearly be communicated without words.

Something like: “Knock it off, moron, you’re on vacation in Hawaii!”

The moment, good or bad, has to be where you are at now.

There’s an old saying from back in the day that goes something like:

“Right now is a great place to be.”

Is this an easy task?

Heck, no.

If, like me, you are a planner, someone who is constantly juggling a plethora of thoughts and ideas, brainstorms and things-to-dos, in his head, living in the moment can be a constant challenge.  Especially while on vacation, a time to pretend that you haven’t a care, possess endless streams of cash, and your career back home is nonexistent.

Meditation helps.  I sit and try to clear my mind through meditation daily.  And for that half-hour I do a pretty decent job of letting go, living in the moment.  They key is to then take that focus of existing in the now along with you the rest of your day.
Again, easier said than done.

But do you really want to wish your life away?  Dream of doing something else or being somewhere else or thinking about anything other than where you are…right…now?  This moment?

Good or bad, amazing or mundane, superb or sub par, this is your life.  Your moment.

Live it.

Every day in every way.

Until next time…

peace,

Mike

**Please check out this video I made for a contest my friend Robin Easton is having at her amazing site, "Naked In Eden."  And please also read her book by the same name.