(Photo taken by me, July 2011)Most of us tend to wake up every day and expect things to be the same they were yesterday, whether that be positive or negative. We live with a false sense of security or mindlessness of wash, rinse, and repeat, going through the motions of day to day living (our comfort zone perhaps?). It can be easy to lose sight of meaning, purpose, and/or gratitude when we're on the proverbial auto-pilot.
But what if tomorrow you woke up with a sense of true wonder instead, not knowing what the day has in store for you? Would you be more grateful for the people in your life and the beauty around you? Would you be more compassionate? More forgiving? More happy? Would you let the little things go? I know I would.
Every moment presents a unique opportunity for mindfulness, peace, and completeness. Yesterday and today have been particularly enriching reminders to me of living in the moment.
I live in a beautiful city, the most beautiful place I've lived thus far...Seattle. Now most mornings I begrudgingly head out to work dreading the rush hour gridlock on I-5. Yesterday morning, however, I couldn't take my eyes off the rays of sun pushing their way through the clouds off in the distant horizon of Bellevue to my left. It's a wonder I didn't get in an accident with how hypnotized I was by the tranquil morning sunrise in my midst. This morning was no exception, as I took in the beauty of mountains as a backdrop to the glow of the sun. How did I get so lucky to see something so gorgeous to start my day, right before my very eyes? Just when I thought it couldn't get any better, tonight I was walking to my car as the sun was setting and I was blown away by a virtual painting in the sky, brushstrokes of cloud lines dappled with patches of pink and purple. A camera could do it no justice.
My mindfulness also extends to relationships....being reminded of how quick things can change with people in our lives, in my own relationships as well as what others tell me of their relationships with partners, family, friends, colleagues...and in my profession, even clients we help. Today a friend of mine shared with me that one of his colleagues that is a year younger than him was suddenly diagnosed with stage 4 cancer....and one of my colleagues today found out suddenly that a client died. Funny enough, a movie I watched tonight also reminded me of this same theme. In "The High Cost of Living" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-t1Vc6PfcMs), drug dealer Henry is living a mindless haphazard existence...until suddenly (!) he accidentally hits a pregnant woman with his car one night. I won't say anything more about the movie because it's astounding; you must see for yourself. It couldn't be a more apropos movie to represent what has become a helpful reminder to me not to take the simple (ie, beauty of a sunrise or sunset) nor the complex (ie, people in our lives) for granted.
Suddenly. Suddenly. Suddenly. It can change so fast. We don't expect to get tragic news, nor do we usually expect that the last time we see someone may very well be the last time. Granted, if we took this to the extreme in our lives it may make for a very morbid and paranoid outlook....but taken with a healthy sense of mindfulness and compassion, it can give us the opportunity to live more deeply (and paradoxically, more lightly) and love more fully.
"The living moment is everything." ~D.H. Lawrence
2 comments:
Reading your blog was a wonderful way to start my morning.
We just came back from a vacataion and I realized that I was more apt to appreciating my surroundings and the moment for moment happenings while away from home. When you're away from the daily grind you somehow open yourself up to these wonders and here's my challenge... to act as if I'm a tourist that switched lives with myself for the day. Maybe I'd appreciate my surroundings more -hell I work down the street from a UNESCO World Heritage Site - the Wuerzburg Residence. I think I let myself get irritated by the little nuances in my daily routine. Like yesterday, I was in Munich and had to buy a tram ticket- I saw a sign that said "buy your tickets in the first wagon" so I walked to the first wagon and asked the driver for a ticket- he ignored me. I waited till the next stop and asked again "I'd like to buy a ticket" and he abruptly answered "then buy one!" and kept driving, 20 seconds later he says "the ticket machine is behind me". Moral of the story. I was so irritated with him that I didn't take the time to take in my surroundings. I've never been to Munich and now I've missed my chance to see 4 or 5 stops worth of buildings, churches etc.
Beautifully written, artfully crafted, wonderfully shared. Thanks for being MY daughter.
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