Seizing the Moment

LIVING IN THE MOMENT

My twenty-something-son’s 35 pound puppy woke me up this morning way before I was ready to get up.  This is the very same puppy that occupied my entire weekend while he frolicked with his girlfriend for four days… and the very same puppy that sleeps on the floor next to me even when my son is home.  But this isn’t about my son or “his” puppy.

I really can’t sleep until noon anymore, even if I want to, but 7:00 a.m. is my preferred wake up hour, not 5:00 a.m. More often than not, my dutiful husband gets up with Rowdy (a frighteningly appropriate name for this particular dog) more than I do. This morning, however, it really was my turn. Unfortunately, the older I get the less I’m motivated I am by guilt so I had to do some serious self-talk to drag myself out of bed.

As I began to dress, he tugged incessantly on one pant leg as I tried to step into the other (no, not my husband, the dog! Those days are not nearly as frequent as they used to be!). Once this task was accomplished, I proceeded to the kitchen nearly falling down the stairs as Rowdy wiggled and wedged himself between my feet with every step I took.  I grabbed his leash and without even so much as a cup of coffee, we headed out the front door on his morning walk. Raising kids was much easier!

But as the door closed behind me, an immediate calm descended over me, in spite of the fact that the anxious puppy was quite successfully pulling me up the street. It was a beautiful, quiet spring morning, except for the birds who sang clearly as joyous as I over the lush green trees that had emerged practically overnight. There was not a car in sight, or garbage truck, or neighborhood dogs barking. It was blissful. I breathed in nature’s calm and felt a deep sense of gratitude…for nothing in particular…and everything.

It occurred to me that I was totally in the moment. My brain was not yet awake enough to start thinking about the day ahead or to fret about yesterday. I was simply there, on that road, in that moment, enjoying the gift of my beautiful surroundings.
Focusing on the moment is a common meditation practice that makes perfect sense to me and one of the few that I can comfortably include in my day. We have no control over the future, no way to change the past, so why do we waste our energy and precious time mentally and emotionally living in those places? Sinking our teeth into what is right in front of us is really all we can do and there is more than enough right here, right now to occupy our attention.

To make the practice even more delightful, we are often handed a gift that we can carry with us through the day….like the perfectly shaped Tulip blossom that fell at my feet as I was walking. It sits on the windowsill over my kitchen sink to remind me to cherish the moment…this moment…right now.