I just had a good conversation tonight with a friend about how we tend to get caught up on only the highs and lows of life and ignore the distance that lies between each of them. We fail to recognize that this distance makes up much of our lives. Our focus seems to lie elsewhere, outside of this huge expanse that we must trek from either success to failure or failure to success or failure to failure or success to success.
The expanse between highs and lows makes up most of our lives and we’re missing it!
We usually dwell on how bad the past was when things are good or how good the past was when things are bad. When things aren’t good or bad, we’re super lost. We really don’t know what the hell we miss or where to even go from here.
It always comes back to the moment. If we can find ourselves lost and enraptured within this moment, whether it’s a moment that is of success, failure, or in-between, than we will find ourselves content and fulfilled. At peace.
And, so you know, most of the moments we find ourselves in are those moments of in-between
I love when good things are happening just like everybody and I hate when bad things are happening just like everybody. The only thing that remains constant throughout is me. If I can practice things that center me which are specific to me and that bring me to the present moment–reading, exercising, writing, meditating–I’ll have a constant of peace. Throughout smooth seas, rough waters, and the longest journey of calm almost lifeless waters when there seems to be nothing happening, I’ll experience peace. Think of the movie Tommy Boy when Tommy is sitting out on his sail boat in the middle of a lake and there’s no wind. He’s kind of stuck. He has somewhere he wants to be but there’s no wind to fill the sails.
Most of our lives are no-wind-to-fill-the-sails moments
These moments where we’re just kind of twiddling our thumbs and not really sure which way to go. Even if we have an idea of the direction we want to go in, it doesn’t happen fast enough for us and we rush through what could have been some very well-spent time becoming better at the thing we want so desperately to succeed in. For so many people, life just isn’t happening fast enough… When will high school end? When will I finally graduate college? When will they call me about this job? When will vacation get here? When will I meet the one? When can I finally retire?…
Wait…
Where did my life go…
If I’m spending every moment waiting and longing for the next great moment, then my life is going to be mostly made up of constant want and unhealthy dissatisfaction. I will forever be lost in “…but what’s next?” I’ll be lost in “but what’s next” until I’m dead.
Live your life now. Whether it’s great or it sucks or NOTHING is going on. Do the things you love and devote focus to them entirely. Bring yourself back to the moment. Make doing the things you love a daily practice. Get into habit of doing what you love doing.
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