“Man this sucks!” Or some version of that is how much we live our lives wondering how we got to the place we are at; where did the month, year or 10 years go. Some things are amazing like falling in love, getting married, having children but those are tiny moments within a lifetime of moments. So how do we create more moments like these? Especially when we are constantly running to get to work, running to meetings and calls during work, running to pick up the kids or to the gym if you have time, running home, working some more or dulling the day with TV, a drink or just going to sleep to start it all over. Inside this “rat race”, how do we live in the moment? What does that even mean?
I define “a moment” as a moment where you can say “Wow”, “Beautiful”, “Amazing”, “I feel alive”, “I feel free”, etc; a time or moment where you are super present to what you see or are doing. These are the moments that remind us we are alive. So the question is how do we do that during the running to here and then running to there of our day. How do we complete our day filled up and not drained?
You know when you are planning a vacation; you prepare all the details. You rush and worry about preparing everything before you leave like house sitting for the pets, wrapping up the loose ends at work, ensure you have all the supplies you need. Then it is worrying about getting to the airport or the destination; then you stress over the itinerary that you created of everything that you want to do or see. Then you worry about getting home on time so the rest of your schedule isn’t messed up. You come back more exhausted then you left and may not have even enjoyed your trip. I can’t tell you how many times I hear or say; “I need a vacation from my vacation!”
My mission is to have regular amazing people that are busy and stressed find the small wow moments in their average day and activity. Take on finding in one activity, experience, moment; something positive. Your kids are arguing and you normally would be pissed off because you want quiet; at that moment, you can watch them for a split second and say, wow look at the self-expressed kids I raised.
I will never forget I just leased a new car and one month to the day, I was rear-ended waiting at a stop light to turn. Normally, I would be anxious, frustrated, pissed, overwhelmed with one more thing I have to deal with. But when I got out of my car and she got out of her, she said “I’m so sorry. My mom just passed away last week. I knew I shouldn’t be driving yet and this happened when my dad died too. I’m so sorry. I can’t believe I did this.” She is sobbing as she is talking and frazzled while trying to find her paperwork. I said “It is ok. Things happen and I’m so sorry for your loss. I can’t image what you are dealing with.” She looked at me so surprised because she thought I was going to reacted pissed off, yell at her etc. And instead I showed compassion. It surprised me too the way I responded. She profusely thanked me; had a smile on her face and was so appreciative of my words when we parted. That was a moment in that day for me. What I didn’t know was coming was seven months later almost to the day I would lose my mom as well.
Where are you going to find your “Wow”, “Beautiful”, “I feel alive moments” during your average normal daily routines? Let’s explore together what living in the moment, one moment at a time will be like and how it will impact us. Take this journey with me!