Be the Journey

"There are about three moments in every second."

I remember reading that somewhere and thinking that it couldn't be possible since a second is such a very small chunk of time. There's no doubt that my initial reaction missed the point entirely. Perhaps this is an abstract, not a logical concept; and one of the reasons it is so difficult to grasp is that we are so programmed to be linear thinkers. Perhaps we no longer perceive the power of thought because we are unable to grasp the moments we are not thinking. It's like appreciating the good times because you've experienced the not so good times. But, it's another piece of the puzzle of balance and it's important to grasp the concept of "in the moment".

You will find a mountain of information about "in the moment". Being in the moment, living in the moment, lost in the moment… Google the term "in the moment" and you will get more hits than you'd ever be able to sift through in a lifetime, from Oprah and Dr. Phil to meditation and Zen. You'll find "in the moment" in relaxation techniques, counseling skills, becoming peaceful, becoming centered and empathically listening, to name just a few.

In this moment, in this instant, your past is behind you and set in stone. In front of you is your future, filled with possibilities and potential, and very much unknown. You could spend this moment wishing you could take back hurtful words, undo what can't be undone, take advantage of a missed opportunity, actually say something to your high school crush, etc. You could spend this moment worrying about what will happen or won't happen, bills to be paid, things to be done, places to go, people to see, etc.

Or, you could grasp the moment and experience the here and now. Instead of looking back on a faint memory of what you missed, you can stop bemoaning the past and worrying about the future. You can experience and live the beauty, the awareness, the peace, the goodness, and the wonder of nature. You find that you are content, energized and excited. You experience joy. Oh yes, it's risky. You have to let go and reach out and explore.

The good news is that you've probably already experienced living in the moment! Have you ever been driving down the road and suddenly snapped to and realized you had no idea how you got there? In that moment you snapped to awareness, startled into the moment, you had no choice but to look around and be right where you were to figure out just where, exactly, that was. It's like being yanked out of your life and set back in it again and it takes everything you've got to get your bearings.

There are other ways that you can hook onto this thing of living in the moment. Once you identify the moments, it becomes easier and easier to enjoy more and more. Here's a few that grab me every time:

Watch a child at play. Totally in the moment, the child will go down and climb up the slide over and over until something else catches the attention, and then it's the swing or the monkey bars or the sand box. This continues until Mother Nature calls with hunger or thirst pains. The child is just as happy to be in the moment with you or other children of any age too.

Watch animals. Though the animal knows when it's time to eat and where the food dish is, and has a pretty good idea that you'll be leaving based on what shoes you have on, the rest of the time, its doing exactly what nature intended: being in the moment. A cat will stalk a bird with great patience until the bird flies away or something else catches its eye. A dog will plop down and go into an immediate deep sleep then jump to full awareness if he hears a car door slam. A horse will fall asleep standing up with both eyes open and both ears going like radar, and deeply sigh with contentment as he is being brushed.

Listen to music. I mean really good music. The kind of music that you crank up way loud and gives you no choice but to sing and dance along. This kind of music gives you the feeling that it will never end, you hope it never ends, and when it does end, it leaves you peaceful and full.

Get outside. Enjoy nature. All of it. Watch a sunrise and a sunset. Go out in the middle of the night and look up at the stars. Sit in the grass and feel the sun, the breeze, smell the scents on the air, feel the blades of grass. Watch the grass grow.

Be creative. Lose yourself doing. Work in your garden, do a watercolor painting, build a birdhouse or a house, rearrange your living room, wash and wax the car… Just do.

Ah, now this is living!

(The other day, at the same time that the sun was setting behind me, in front of me was this incredible moonrise. Once I pried my chin off my chest, I snapped this photo with my cell phone. Surprisingly, it caught the colors true. It was one of those moments for me.)