Every day I look around me and people are zooming here, there, everywhere…yikes!! It is a busy little world for sure. Sometimes I feel like I am standing still and the populace is spinning me in circles as it marches to what comes next. In actuality the previous sentence is somewhat true, for I am one to stop and standstill, to take it all in, to breathe slowly in and out and then mosey to where I am supposed to be next. Life is a tenuous tight rope that we walk, often thinking that we have all this time to just keep doing, pretending that tomorrow we will take the time to really sit and be present with those we love…sadly tomorrow seems to rarely come for many.

This blog is a BIG in your face, in hopes that maybe just maybe you will remember that life is fleeting and there are no guarantees about tomorrow. The only real time you have is NOW, this now, then the next now and the next.., or more clearly stated, life is a tapestry created by our moments.

How we “show up” in our moment directly impacts how we will experience the next moment and it also impacts the next moment of those you touch along the way. Our moment to moment interactions are not immune from the outside influences unless we begin to embrace the moments with understanding. What I experience most often is that people live life like a pinball game, bouncing off one interaction or event to another – never taking the time to truly be in the moment. At the end of the day we sit down and detach ourselves from all the moments experienced throughout the day by turning on the television, computer, or some other device that keeps us occupied.

Until one day one of those moments shocks you…maybe you lose your job, get in a car accident, get sick, lose a dear friend, or…!! Interesting how that moment becomes suspended in time, frozen in your memory, a slow motion video that replays. Now there are also those moments on the other side…you get a job promotion, you buy a new car, have a baby…!! Ahhh yes the pendulum of positive and negative. Again those moments stand still, suspended in a state of time irrelevant to the ticking clock.

The question I often ponder is why do we not embrace the more subtle moments with awe, gratitude, and present awareness? Why do we only impress upon our minds, hearts, and souls the big moments that cause pain or bring joy. What if those smaller quieter moments could become as intoxicating with joy and grace.

I remember reading a book shortly after I got divorced that had a profound effect upon how I embraced the “to do chore list” moments. In the book she made me aware of what an honor it was to fold my children’s clothes, prepare meals for those I cared about, shovel the snowy path, water the plants, etc… The day will come when I do not get to fold my children’s clothes, I will not get to feed the people who circle my life now, I will not have a path to shovel, or plants to care for…life is impermanent. To take these precious moments for granted is to wish for time to pass by before it’s fully ripe. The truth from the pages blasted me with such raw awareness!! As I digested the wisdom, I changed, never did I look at the laundry the same, the dishes, preparing a meal – the mundane chores of life took on a new brightness, presented a gift to be present and in gratitude.

Soon my son shall fly from the nest – no longer will I get to fold his clothes, cook his meals, or just enjoy his presence in the room. Moving has taken me away from preparing meals for the community that held us in their womb with love. Becoming a teenager has taken my daughter from my lap and gifted her with pursuits of her own. People I thought who would always be in my life having left this world. The only true reality we have is that life is impermanent and always changing…if we do not embrace our present moments with love, appreciation, recognition, and awareness they will slip by unnoticed in our aggression to DO life.

We are of course at chose, each of us having the opportunity to stop and notice, or run to what comes next without even blinking. I invite you to welcome the moments with awareness, I know it is extremely challenging to do it all the time, but I can honestly say there is wonder in most moments if we take the time to see, feel, and breathe.

In a few short days we will say goodbye to 2016 and welcome in a New Year – 2017!! A mere moment separates the two. My New Year’s wish for everyone is to embrace, cherish, and relish in all the moments you are graced to journey. May 2017 be a year of joy, courage, adventure, love and surrendered peace for you all!