It seems like nearly every day, we’re seeing news reports of more lost jobs, more closed locationsmore gloom at every turn. It can be nearly impossible to stay planted in today and not let the worry of the next quarter prevent us from working with what we have right now. It can be nearly impossible to tear yourself away from the television reports and back into your day to day life.
I’m a worrier. If it were an Olympic sport, I’d be the gold medalist. I can worry about things a year from now. I can worry about parenting a teenagermy son just started wiping his own butt. I have worried about what to do for the holidays before the first bud of spring makes its appearance.
So often, we need to step back and check back in with reality. There have been so many times in my life when I’ve been so wrapped up in my own problems that I couldn’t get out of my own way to enjoy this moment, this day. Truly, this is all that we have. When we allow ourselves to get mired in the day to day struggles and stress without even cracking a smile, we lose the gift we’ve been given in this beautiful day. Recently, I was angry at someone in a meeting and I let it ruin my entire day. I stomped around here fussy, madder’n a wet hen. Guess who lost their day? Not that guy. Me. 8 hours of my life that I’ll never get back. Think that guy changed because I was angry? Sure didn’t.
The key to making it through these times with our sanity intact is to stay grounded in the present momentthis day, this minute, this breath. Sometimes that’s all you can manage, taking that next breath, and sometimes that’s *all* you have to manage. As a childbirth coach, I had a good friend who reminded me that the whole process is make up of a thousand baby steps. Each one can only be taken one at a time and worrying about the next thirty won’t change themyou can only work with the one right in front of you.
There is one ultimately unifying quality among us – we’ll all die eventually. I personally plan to come skidding into my final parking place, hair all crazy from the wind, dirt stuck in my laugh lines, tires flat, steam pouring out of the radiator, radio blaring, jumping out and saying, “Man, what a ride!”
Take a moment today to enjoy the small things around you and pass a smile to those who need one. It’s contagious! Imagine the power if just half of us went around with the sole intent of cheering up one other person today. We’d be a pretty powerful force to contend with!
