I thought it was Monday when I woke up that morning. Then—no, no, no. That’s not right. Is it? Well… maybe?
Let the record show: It was Wednesday.
Fortunately, I got my space-time-continuum bearings up to speed before I showed up at the wrong time for the wrong meeting.
You may or may not know that my family gene pool is knee-deep in Alzheimer’s tendencies. Used to be that these calendar-challenged moments would trigger a teeny-weeny panic attack full of dementia dread. Lucky for me, I know better now.
I cherish my “Wait… what day is it?” moments—especially first thing in the morning—because that means I woke up fully present, 100% enjoying the moment. No emotional hangovers. No dread of the day to come. #Winning
My permanent intention is to begin each day feeling pure joy. With the knowledge that the upcoming hours will unfold as I would have them—showing me everything I could ever want.
Or even better: Everything I never knew I needed.
I Wasn’t Always This Way
I spent months, years, decades waking up with regrets, worries, or foreboding. Knowing exactly where I stood in the evolution of time. Not realizing I was depriving myself of anything.
By rethinking the past and overthinking what was next, I thought I was doing the right thing:
- Preparing for my life ahead
- Taking care of my family
- Making sure all the boxes were checked
But I was skipping the good stuff:
- Stopping to breathe
- Enjoying the world around me
- Appreciating the beauty of each moment
The smelling of the proverbial roses.
No, I’m not mad at my time “wasted.” That was who I had to be in order to get to where I am now. I’ve gotten pretty good at forgiving myself—realizing I was doing the best I could with what I had at the time. (We know we need to forgive others, but it’s so easy to forget to include ourselves in the blanket of acceptance.)
Balancing Act
It’s a fine line, this walk between meeting all the obligations of this crazy world and the self-care your soul needs. But if I have one true priority in life, it’s this: Mastering the magic of living in the moment… and still not forgetting that Zoom call.
Here are some of my tricks:
1. I start each morning defining my intentions for the time to come until I sleep again. This is when I figure out what day it is. Coffee in hand.
2. Pen and paper are at the ready. To jot down an affirmation for the day. To write down feelings I want to cherish and ones I want to release.
3. I do my dead level best to feel all the feelings that pop up during the course of my day. Dealing with them in the moment. Is that always possible? Oh, heavens to Betsy, no. But the years have taught me that stashing emotions away in our back pocket is possibly the worst thing we can do to ourselves as human beings.
That energy doesn’t evaporate. It stores itself for later and can pop up when you least expect it. In ways you never could have imagined.
4. I plan time to check in with myself: my gut, my body, my mood. It just takes a sec, and it’s the best preventative maintenance out there. Take five minutes to breathe, walk, or just dance it out as needed.
5. End each day as I began it—in the moment. Peeling away layers of the day as needed to get to the gratitude for all the goodness that crossed my path. And the goodness yet to come. Having a pen in hand magnifies the moment.
Am I perfect at this? Of course not.
But I know this mindset improves the quality of my life—and I strive for it every day.
At the end of my days, whenever that may be, I want to replay my tape with a smile. (If you haven’t watched the film Defending Your Life, stop reading this right now and go do it. I mean it. I’ll wait.)
See you in the next moment.
