Now that Memorial Day is over, many have cleaned our yards and prettied our patios. It is a good idea to make and take the time to enjoy the fruit of our sore muscles as we wait for our garden harvest and blooming flowers.
When I was much younger, I would watch friends and neighbors work in their gardens and flowerbeds for hours daily. They would rake, haul, clip, water, fertilize, drag hoses around, and wipe down all the patio furniture, but I seldom saw them relaxing and enjoying the pristine spaces they created. I was no different. Are you?
June begins in two days, and before we know it, the school will be starting, and we’ll be digging out Halloween decorations. Then, we’re stuck inside, glad we don’t have to mow anymore, but dreaming of tulips popping through the cold ground.
These days, we hear a lot about being mindful and in the present moment. Why do we have to be reminded? It should be a natural, no-brainer choice. Many things deserve 100% of our attention, but few get it.
Many of my friends worry about their lack of short-term memory and inability to remember details of past events. I’m right there with them. It is frustrating and frightening.
My opinion is not scientific, but our habit and culture of valuing tasking could prevent us from having the desired memory. We plan and schedule dental appointments, make sure we get to sporting events, and make a grocery list, but we need to do a better job of paying attention and enjoying what we’re doing at the time we’re doing it.
How will I remember the beautiful moments of a surprise birthday party when thinking about my hair, messy house, or what’s on the calendar for tomorrow? I could and should only be thinking about the people, their smiles, and their contribution to my life. Then, a year later, if someone asks me what I did for my birthday last year, I can tell them because I was entire, body and mind, in the room when it happened.
What we remember directly connects to how well we focus on the moment we’re living while we’re living it.
May is fading, and June will soon smile through the kitchen window. Why not sit more, pay more attention, and leave the doing for another time? Don’t we work hard in the spring preparing to enjoy the fun and sun of summer? It’s a goal worth achieving.
I will practice my own words, knowing full well that patio time is short-lived in Colorado. Twenty-four hours a day are ours, so let’s maximize the time with a little more sitting, paying attention, and R&R. It’s that time of year.
Until the next time: Live while you live.
Jennifer Goble, Ph.D., LPC, is the author of “My Clients…My Teachers,” and the blogger and writer of Rural Women Stories: www.ruralwomenstories.com.
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