What a wonderful morning reminder from Abraham to wake up to this morning:
“Your life is right now! It’s not later! It’s not in that time of retirement. It’s not when the lover gets here. It’s not when you’ve moved into the new house. It’s not when you get the better job. Your life is right now. It will always be right now. You might as well decide to start enjoying your life right now, because it’s not ever going to get better than right now–until it gets better right now!”
I am reminded of the story that Wayne Dyer tells where the man was unhappy doing what he was doing, resenting his wife because she always pushed him to stay in that career. On his deathbed, he looked up and said, “What if my whole life has been a mistake?” Upon hearing that story, at age 19, Wayne made the vow to himself to not die with his music still in him.
How can we keep the music alive, moment by moment? It is the stark reality to realize that our individual moments eventually comprise all the days in “the dash” – that space of time between our birth year and the year of our last breath.
It is interesting what happens when one sprinkles in laughter, fun, and enjoyment along with what could appear to be a long, grueling work process. For example, Dr. Gabhart and I are writing a book. We have noted that we are much more productive, making much more progress, when we take a break in between working sessions. We sometimes take the time to drive someplace different for lunch, sometimes we spontaneously decide to run to a consignment shop on the fly, etc.
This week we created an aggressive timeline for completion of our projects. We also discussed the importance of having fun along the journey. With that in mind, we created a plan to drive a couple hours one day next week to nearby Brown County, a wonderful nature retreat, to work from there.
What if your job confines you to a building? What can you do to make the day fun? What can you do to recharge your energy? What can you do to make someone else’s day, which will in return invigorate you? Can you walk around the building at lunch? Can you pause to take a fun mental trip every couple of hours or so? Can you play soft, uplifting music in the background in your cubicle? Can you put up pictures, snapshots at your desk?
Yesterday, on her second day of school, my granddaughter took me on a tour of her new classroom. She was thrilled to show me her locker, a privilege that comes with advancing to 3rd grade. From her backpack, she carefully withdrew a half dozen of her favorite snapshots, each accompanied with a fun magnet. Happily, she spread out all the pictures and magnets on the floor and then set about decorating the inside of her locker.
What we can learn from a third grader with a new locker? Every time she opens that door, she is filled with a warm sensation streaming from her happy pictures.
What will you do today to keep the music alive in these moments within your dash?
