Be Present

Yesterday’s challenge was to notice the little things. It was raining when I woke up, and Ginger wasn’t particularly interested in her morning walk. It would have been easy to complain about the weather, but instead I thought about how much we needed the rain. The window in my office, which has leaked more times than I care to remember this summer, stayed dry. I appreciated my windshield wipers on the drive to work and my coat for keeping me dry. On the drive home, the storm was moving out. Dark clouds filled the sky to the east, while to the west the clouds were breaking apart, allowing rays of sunshine to peek through. Ginger and I eventually got our walk. It was dark, but unseasonably warm for November. I thought briefly about the Halloween blizzard of 1991 and decided I was perfectly happy with rain. None of these things were particularly remarkable. But when you start looking for reasons to be grateful, it’s surprising how many you find.

Today’s challenge is a little different. It’s Election Day, and by tonight we’ll probably know the outcome of many of the races. Some people will be celebrating, and others will be disappointed. Regardless of which side you’re on, today is a good day to practice being present. Don’t spend the day worrying about what might happen or dwelling on what already has. Focus on what’s happening right in front of you. Give someone you care about your undivided attention. Take a few moments every hour to breathe deeply, look at a piece of art, or simply notice what’s happening around you. The world will keep turning whether you’re watching every minute of the election coverage or not.

There’s a lesson in tennis that applies here. Between points, you’ll sometimes see a player stop, look down, and collect himself. Maybe he’s just hit the best shot of his life. Maybe he missed one he should have made. Either way, that point is over. The next one is all that matters. It’s surprisingly good advice for life, too. We spend an awful lot of time replaying yesterday or worrying about tomorrow, sometimes at the expense of today.

At the end of the day, take a few minutes to reflect. Maybe write your thoughts in a journal. What did you notice when you made a conscious effort to be present? What did you learn? Did you feel any different when you stopped worrying about things you couldn’t control and paid attention to the things you could? Being present doesn’t mean ignoring the world around us. It means making sure we don’t miss the life happening right in front of us.