Slow down, and seize the moment.

Open-ArmsSo many of us suffer the consequences of a consumer lifestyle. Even for those of us that are not living in excess (those of us who are already minimalists), so many of us still suffer a major consequence of this consumerist society in that we have the drive to be constantly “on the move.” Always in a hurry. We try so hard to fit as much as we can into a single day. We make lots and lots of plans, booking one task/event after another, after another. Often packing our schedules so tightly that we cannot enjoy any of these activities. We are so deep in thought about “what’s next on the agenda” that we are not living in the moment RIGHT NOW. Our minds are so focused on making sure that we complete all our tasks by the end of the day/week/month/whatever  that our senses are closed off to letting us experience life.

Here is a sample day:

  • While we are getting ready for the day we are thinking “I gotta hurry and make it to the gym.”
  • While we are exercising at the gym we are thinking: “I hope I can make my massage appointment.”
  • While we are getting a massage we are putting together our grocery list in our minds: “OOO, I can’t forget to get the avocados.”
  • While we are grocery shopping we are contemplating how much food to prepare when we get home.
  • While we are preparing and then eating our dinner back at home we are going over our agenda for the next day.

And the results:

  • While we were getting ready for the day we missed the beautiful sunrise out of our window.
  • Our minds were so removed from our workout that we didn’t quite give it our all.
  • We missed out on the wonderful pleasure of a good massage because once again we were removed from the moment.
  • We were so focused on what we were going to make for dinner that we forgot the avocados anyway. We also didn’t notice that our favorite beer is finally back on the market.
  • We were unable to enjoy the wonderful tacos we made because while we were eating we were stressing about tomorrows chores. Oh, and we missed the sunset.

(Does any of this sound familiar?)

SLOW DOWN people. Don’t plan so much in one day. Leave room every day to let life happen. We miss out on too much in life when we are in a hurry all the time. So much beauty, so much opportunity. When we are always focused on the narrow path by which we planned out our day we are putting blinders on to everything going on in our peripherals. And there are so many wonderful things going on around us. We need merely let ourselves be open to it.

“Life moves by pretty fast. If you don’t stop to look around every once and awhile, you could miss it.”

Ferris Bueller (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off)