Living in the Moment

I find myself driving my car each day. As we all know, driving a car in traffice requires decisions. Each decision is critical to getting to your destination safely. Any driving course teaches you what to watch for, the potholes other drivers.

Life is the same way as we all know. You are the driver of your car. Nobody else is driving that car. That car is your thought process each day, each moment. I just turned up the sound on this song called Pieces of Eight. It was a moment. I put on the blinders of my life and made that decision.

I made a decision to stop by this starbucks, get a snack, some decaf coffee. Decisions because I was hungry, didn't need more caffeine and I wanted to write on this rainy Saturday. Writing fulfills me. It is emptying my mind but yet fulfills me. I made those decisions to bring me here, writing to you and myself as I sit outside.

I know this moment, those decisions, I will remember later this feeling I have right now. I'm abosrbing that feeling, that moment. I can remember many of these moments in my life.

It was 1984, June summer night in Bellevue, Nebraska. I had befriended a guy named Yancy who was several years younger than me. We loved playing basketball and chasing girls. I cannot remember how we met. That escapes me. However this night never leaves my mind. The song by Bryan Adams "Summer of 69" was popular then.

I had a portable tape player/ boom box. I had that tape which had that song on it along with a lot of his hits on it. I remember having that boom box, that tape with me and Yancy and I playing basketball. The two of us. One on games. Horse. Well into the wee hours of the night. I think I went home around 2:30 or 3 AM. We talked. We laughed. A couple of the cute neighbor girls came around for awhile. I had the hugest crush on Lori. Petite brunette, smart, funny cute. I remember telling them, that this night was like Bryan Adams song "Summer of 69". I knew it was a special night.



We all have special nights. Our wedding day, a birth of a child, new job, huge milestones. I'm not talking about them. I'm talking about moments like the night in June, 1984, like today when I'm writing this. Those are special moments. Buddhism teaches us to observe moments or what is called Right Mindfulness. LIft yourself out of that inner dialogue and observe your behaviors, your actions, your thoughts. I did that way back in 1984. I could fill this blog post of these types of days. None were life changing but they were special moments in time for me. I recognized the energy that was created to observe it from above, to know it was special and memorable.

Too often, we don't observe those moments in our lives. I wish, as a child, I knew this method of living. There were tons of special moments now that I look back on them, rarely did I know that at the time. I know that is due to the maturity level of a child and I accept that. Furthermore, I'm not sure we can teach our children how to live in the moment.

I try to live in the moment, say grateful things like "I'm having a great vision day". I say that a lot, not just when I see a pretty lady, but when I'm driving and the world is sharp and in focus.

Too often, while we are in the moment, the world is not sharp and in focus. That inner dialogue skews the focus and shifts the focus on external things that are not relevant. What is relevant is that time and space you are in. Think of it as a box.



Embrace that box, the four walls of that moment in a box. I am fully cognizant of everything that is going around me at this time. I can tell you who is sitting next to me right now. But, when I will look back on this, and I will, I will remember the amazing emotional feeling of writing this blog. It is very powerful. It is teaching me what gives me energy and to understand how I can keep doing that.

Be mindful of the moment, embrace it, make a mental or even physical note of it. I know I do and will, as I wrote this blog about it.


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