I was thinking this week – which can sometimes be a scary thing – about how I really need to focus on what is happening RIGHT NOW! I’ve alluded to this before but I really tried to put it to work this week.
I was sitting on the new pool deck at my son’s house on a beautiful day. The weather was warm and sunny, the whole family was there with good music playing and suddenly I started to think about how some of the family was leaving the next day and how much I was going to miss them.
The old me would have dwelled on that and gotten bummed out but the “new-and-improved-Pete” (or least I’m trying), said “Stop it!” ( Not out loud. That would be weird.) “Enjoy what’s going on now.”
Ironically, I came to this realization after watching my dog and my grandson. Not necessarily in that order.
First I’ll start with Liam, my grandson. Babies are all about the “now” aren’t they? “I’m hungry NOW. I’m tired NOW. I need changing NOW.” They don’t think about the future and they haven’t started thinking about the past yet. I wonder when that starts? I think I’ve written before how amazing it is to watch him discover something new. He studies it; examines it; sometimes puts it in his mouth! There’s no concern of “Do I have time for this?” “Should I do this now or would mommy rather have me do it later?” He does it now. In the moment.
I mention my dog because Baxter came with us to Virginia this past week. We really didn’t want to leave him home alone with the neighbors coming to check on him so soon after Oscar died. He hasn’t been alone for a few years. He probably wasn’t thrilled with the 10-hour car ride but he did okay. He got along well with my son’s dog, Roscoe, and I think he had a good time. What I noticed about him is that dogs too seem to focus on what’s in front of them right now. Does he think about Oscar and miss him? Maybe, but he seems to focus on what’s right in front of him.
From the “If I knew then what I know now department“: I wish I had thought about this year’s ago. I can’t count the hours I wasted on vacation thinking about problems at work or worrying that the vacation was almost over instead of just enjoying what was happening. Oh well, you live and learn I guess. I hope.
Now, I’m not saying you should never plan for the future or think of solutions to problems we all have, I’m just recommending you enjoy what’s in front of you and maybe schedule planning time for later. Don’t miss out on enjoying family time or fun time because you’re preoccupied. What’s that saying…”There’s a time for everything?”
It comes from the Bible: Ecclesiastes 3…….“To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.”
My new goal is not to mix my “Time for joy” with my “Time for worry.” I’m going to try to be in the “Now.”
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