I’ve seen a couple of posts come through on Facebook recently – one from Steve Jobs about how he met his wife and another from the Dalai Lama. Both offered basically the same life lesson – live now because you’re going to die someday and that someday might be today. Don’t put off until tomorrow what you could be passionate about today. Don’t drive yourself crazy waiting for life to show up. It’s not life that is failing to show up – it’s you.
Every day we walk through the world not really seeing what is going on around us. We travel by rote through seas of people with whom we don’t connect, living lives in which we don’t engage, and only squeezing time out for significance in the rarest of moments. Instead, we’re focused on what’s coming next or what just happened or the list of things still left to be done. When we focus in these places, we are living in the future or in the past, but never in the now. And now is all that there is. The past is gone – you can’t get it back. The future is yet to be written – who knows if you’ll even be there for it? You could die in the next moment and nothing you’ve been planning will be relevant.
Be here now.
Do what you are passionate about now.
Love now.
Engage now.
Now.
Not in a minute, not after you finish this blog post. Now. Look around you. Take in the space that you are in. Look at the people in your line of sight – really notice them. Notice the vibrancy of the plant in your office. Notice the sun coming in through the window (or hiding behind the clouds), take in the energy of this moment because it will never exist again – it is unique. This moment is all there is.
Love the person you are right now – you’ve worked hard to become this person and this is the person who will inform all of your tomorrows. Appreciate this person. Give credit where credit is due and acknowledge the lessons learned from the mistakes made – nothing goes wasted. It has all become part of you. How wonderful it is to be you in this moment! No one else can do that – you are the expert. Appreciate your expertise.
Open your heart and your soul to the world around you. Take it in and love it. Physical reality is a unique gift. Being able to feel your hands on the keyboard, your feet against the floor, your butt in the seat. It’s awesome! Enjoy every moment of it. And then share your wonder with someone else. Invite them back into the moment with you and revel in it together!
Oh – there you are! It’s great to see you! Enjoy your moment!
