Being "in the present moment" is an ongoing issue for me. I see that same quality mirrored in my 8-year old daughter. I am constantly being peppered with questions like:
"What are we doing this weekend?"
"Is there anything special coming up?"
"I can't wait until summer .... "
As a child I would often hear my Mother say; "stop and smell the roses", instead of rushing through my childhood. I tended to push forward to each milestone, instead of fully enjoying the spaces in between. Even in my 30s I had not made enough improvement in this area. I read a book called Real Moments by Barbara De Angelis. The message in the book was very similar to what my Mom had always told me, but the message was packaged differently enough to catch my attention and make me stop to consider how it affected me.
I began to make subtle changes. While fighting through morning traffic on the way to my office I would drag myself from mechanical driving and instead would glance up and enjoy the blue sky and cotton ball clouds, as I would on a Saturday. Instead of rushing through a meal to quickly get to the next activity, I slow down, savour the flavour, knowing that the next activity would still be waiting for me.
I remind my daughter to enjoy the here and now. If we spend all our time living for moments in the future, today passes by without being fully experienced or enjoyed. I remember this quote:
"We teach that which we most need to learn. " ~ Mike Robbins ~
Being in the moment is a journey for me, not a destination. It's a lesson I pass onto my children, as we travel this journal of mindful presence, being in the moment, or as my Mother said, "stop and smell the roses".
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