Constantly one step ahead of myself...like reading a book...eyes continually glancing to the words down the page. Cooking breakfast, and thinking about putting a load of laundry on...changing the baby and thinking about a new sewing project waiting for completion...bathing a child, and thinking about blog posts. Why can't I just live in the now?
As women, we are pretty adept at multi-tasking. I have been known to talk on the phone, while nursing a baby, while stirring spaghetti sauce...while helping with a homework question....you get the picture. But am I really doing any of these jobs well...am I really experiencing life to the fullest? Am I taking the time to inhale that baby sweet freshness, to tickle my little one's tummy and give her "raspberries"? Am I savouring the smell of the garlic sauteeing...trying a new secret ingredient to my sauce to add a new flavour...and then truly tasting the meal and enjoying it? Am I really listening to my child...my husband...my friend? Or am I just nodding and saying "uh-huh" with an absentminded grunt?
In 2006 we made a trip across Canada. It was a huge endeavour...moving 7 children, and all our worldly belongings from British Columbia to Ontario, in a school bus. My husband and I discussed the trip at length and decided that the we didn't want to just survive this trip, we really wanted to enjoy it...and the only way to do this was to take things on day at a time...one moment at a time. We decided that we were just going to take our time...and when we got there, we got there. We stopped often for picnics and pee breaks, pictures (see mountain above), swims and hikes. And you know what? We had the best trip ever...so many beautiful memories made...because we took the time to savour...to enjoy...to focus on the beauty of the journey...rather than the end goal.
That is my prayer today. That I can learn how to be more present in the moment. To truly taste life and all that it has to offer...here and now.
Speaking of "living in the moment" I have a baby looking to be nursed and a 4 year old playing with my computer mouse...I think it must be time to "sign off"!
That must have been the trip of a lifetime...We always talk of traveling across America in much the same way.
ReplyDeleteAmen to that!
ReplyDeleteBefore having children, my husband and I travelled from the farm to Texas by motorcycle. We rarely consulted maps. We knew we needed to head south and west, and simply picked roads of interest that were headed in the correct directions. It is etched into my memory as the trip of a lifetime. Saw the neatest places.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE that you travelled in a school bus. LOVE it.
This rings so true to me. Thank you for the lovely reminder. You always inspire me sweet sis.
ReplyDeleteBig love
Shanti
Guilty! Even at this very moment that I write, I'm trying to stop an infant from crawling down the stairwell. Great reminder! My parents made a similar trip with the three of us when we were 8, 6 and 4 through Italy, my mother's homeland. Eight weeks pulled out of school, but such learning! No school bus, though!
ReplyDelete