I used to
be a planner.
My days and
months were planned years ahead. I had lists of the lists of the things I
needed to do.
Yet, with my
attention focused on making all those lists and plans, I didn’t realise that
life itself was passing me by. Insidiously, plans and lists dominated my
life. So stealthily I didn't notice it happening, my days lost their balance in the clamouring demands of everything that needed to get done.
Since my
husband’s diagnosis, treatment, surgery and now (thanks be to God) his slow recovery,
I’ve learnt that one is most alive when plans must be changed in an instant
and there’s no time to make lists.
Life these
past seven months has consisted of focusing only on this moment, this day. No
time to worry about yesterday’s mistakes. No time to stress about planning for
tomorrow’s tasks. No time to think, just to be in the moment and deal with whatever
happens.
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Living in the present moment allows us to be open to whatever experience comes our way Image purchased from www.iStock.com ©iStock.com/"Life Crossword Puzzle" by kaan tanman |
Sometimes it
takes a terrifying crisis to make us understand on a deep spiritual level that
this moment of existence is all we really have. In spontaneaously living through the crisis, we learn how to differentiate between what's essential to our happiness, and what is ultimately superfluous.
And how
enlightening that discovery has been.