Living in the moment, that is a good thing... right?
I have always heard that living in the moment is something that we each should strive for, and there is a certain logic to it, but anyone that has children may have to disagree. What parent hasn’t cringed when a child of theirs hasn’t made the connection between action "A" + action "B" = X.
Little Sally is playing outside with the hose. This sounds like a nice cooling summertime activity. Next add one dog sunning on the porch to the equation. ( I can almost hear the light bulbs going on for other like minded people who just know where this is going)
Thoughtful little Sally decides to cool off the dog by giving it a good dousing with the hose. This equals "B" in our formula.
Dog, not particularly liking the cold water wake up call, rushes to the door to get away from helpful little Sally, who being the sweet child that she is, OPENS THE DOOR! Now the conclusion of our equation: Wet dog races into the house jumping onto the furniture running along the sofa face buried in the cushion with back feet propelling it along to evenly soak funky dog smelling water into each cushion as it careens about the room, overturing the lamp on the end table, tripping the parent who races into the room to try to stem the chaos and shaking seemingly gallons of water onto the parent as they reach for the dog.
Meanwhile, little Sally had only reached the conclusion that, summer = warm, Sally + water = cooling fun. Sally had not followed through the equation to it’s end. She was living in the moment.
Right now little Sally is living a moment in the corner.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Friday, August 8, 2008
Mirror Mirror on the wall
Mirror Mirror on the wall
I wonder who designed the bathroom in my house. I love the bathroom, and hate it. I have one of those large bathtubs set into the corner of the room beneath the skylight. What is not to love?I will tell you. My toilet is sitting right beside the afore mentioned bastion of comfort. Doesn't sound bad at the outset, till the fact that some sadist/ designer framed the walls around the bathtub with bathtub to ceiling mirrors.WHAT?!?While sitting perched upon the porcelain, one is invited to view yourself in all your glory.I have to admit to finding it rather akin to watching a train wreck. You don't want to look, you know you aren't going to like what you see, but still you peek between your fingers and gasp, " WTF?"I don't know about you, but I have this rather remote picture of myself that was forged somewhere in my 20's or 30's that has remained in my head as what I look like, maybe because I voluntarily looked in the mirror for more than a cursory glance more frequently back then. I am always shocked when I inadvertently look to my right in said bathroom and spy that person imitating me in those ghastly mirrors. I suddenly straighten up from my slouch sucking in what should be sucked in, and thrusting out, what at one time didn't need any thrusting. Then comes the critique. I hate myself for it and still I do it. I have to stand in front of that tub before slipping into the blessing of bubbles and soothing hot water and furtively steal glances, taking in just little at a time to avoid being overwhelmed by the whole picture. When did that jiggle get there? What happened to that flat little valley between my hipbones? Who put those circles under my eyes?I can tell you from experience that slipping down into those bubbly depths ( a little quicker than the days when I manage to avoid the looking glass) mercifully beneath mirror level, is a reprieve similar to a governors pardon.After my soak it is easier to face that image. I can see the wear that time and living have found their ways to make their mark on my body. The skin not as supple as it once was, the laugh lines, the roundness that covers areas that were once flat planes, with a more philosophical view.Maybe like my house, I have the lived in look.Broken in, but not worn out.Next on the list of home improvements will be mirror removal, and maybe another lap around the block.
I wonder who designed the bathroom in my house. I love the bathroom, and hate it. I have one of those large bathtubs set into the corner of the room beneath the skylight. What is not to love?I will tell you. My toilet is sitting right beside the afore mentioned bastion of comfort. Doesn't sound bad at the outset, till the fact that some sadist/ designer framed the walls around the bathtub with bathtub to ceiling mirrors.WHAT?!?While sitting perched upon the porcelain, one is invited to view yourself in all your glory.I have to admit to finding it rather akin to watching a train wreck. You don't want to look, you know you aren't going to like what you see, but still you peek between your fingers and gasp, " WTF?"I don't know about you, but I have this rather remote picture of myself that was forged somewhere in my 20's or 30's that has remained in my head as what I look like, maybe because I voluntarily looked in the mirror for more than a cursory glance more frequently back then. I am always shocked when I inadvertently look to my right in said bathroom and spy that person imitating me in those ghastly mirrors. I suddenly straighten up from my slouch sucking in what should be sucked in, and thrusting out, what at one time didn't need any thrusting. Then comes the critique. I hate myself for it and still I do it. I have to stand in front of that tub before slipping into the blessing of bubbles and soothing hot water and furtively steal glances, taking in just little at a time to avoid being overwhelmed by the whole picture. When did that jiggle get there? What happened to that flat little valley between my hipbones? Who put those circles under my eyes?I can tell you from experience that slipping down into those bubbly depths ( a little quicker than the days when I manage to avoid the looking glass) mercifully beneath mirror level, is a reprieve similar to a governors pardon.After my soak it is easier to face that image. I can see the wear that time and living have found their ways to make their mark on my body. The skin not as supple as it once was, the laugh lines, the roundness that covers areas that were once flat planes, with a more philosophical view.Maybe like my house, I have the lived in look.Broken in, but not worn out.Next on the list of home improvements will be mirror removal, and maybe another lap around the block.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
every day
Anyone that knows me probably knows I am a proponent of finding the joys in each day. I am well aware that this is easier on some days than on others.
Funny that the days when it is easy aren't always the ones you expect.
Today I have been busily trying to evict a very stubborn skunk from under my house. This activity in general wouldn't strike me as very joy inducing from the outside. Imagine my surprise when I found myself reflecting on the warmth of the sun on my back and recognizing the moment for the happiness that it gave me, between scrabbling along on my knees in the rather wet dirt. Granted, this was not a birth of a child joy moment, but it was a simple realization that I was enjoying that moment.
We all tend to focus on the stressful moments in each day. Sometimes that is unavoidable. I wonder though, how much happier we would all be if we trained ourselves to recognize the simple happy moments, and give them the same weight that we give to the less than happy moments.
Funny that the days when it is easy aren't always the ones you expect.
Today I have been busily trying to evict a very stubborn skunk from under my house. This activity in general wouldn't strike me as very joy inducing from the outside. Imagine my surprise when I found myself reflecting on the warmth of the sun on my back and recognizing the moment for the happiness that it gave me, between scrabbling along on my knees in the rather wet dirt. Granted, this was not a birth of a child joy moment, but it was a simple realization that I was enjoying that moment.
We all tend to focus on the stressful moments in each day. Sometimes that is unavoidable. I wonder though, how much happier we would all be if we trained ourselves to recognize the simple happy moments, and give them the same weight that we give to the less than happy moments.
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