Emily Dickinson, The Poems of Emily Dickinson
When does life start? What are you waiting for? When will you be happy? What has to happen for you to be happy? To be fulfilled?
Most of us play the waiting game. The “when ….. then…..” game, which is why I chose to use this quote for my post today. In my years of coaching and working with clients, I’ve noticed this is one of the most frequently encountered obstacles to enjoying life’s abundance and pleasures. Most of us are so destination focussed, we forget the moment.
Imagine going on holiday and as you’re walking out the door, you say ‘come on then, let’s get this over and done with’. You know that your actual destination is to come back home, to walk through your front door from the other direction, so why bother going away? You’re already at your destination!
In a wider sense, though not wishing to be morbid, your ultimate destination in life is …. yes, death. Yet most of us do not rush toward it, in fact, we are obsessed with longevity and life extension, eternal youthfulness and all that jazz. For what? For when? For whom?
The magic lies in the moment. Miss the moments and you’ll miss life.
Whenever we go away, my husband inevitably says to me ‘let’s make the journey part of the holiday’. So, whether we go by plane, train or car, we attempt to make it an enjoyable experience (even if airport staff and regulations sometimes do their best to take us off track).
What if there is no destination, just loads of NOWS??
So, just for today, take a few moments to:
- breathe – slowly, deeply, consciously
- choose a focus – daisies and dandelions* on the green, a glimmer of light on a pond, the breeze of the wind on your face, laughter with someone you love, smiling at a stranger
and feel the essence of life within you, right here, right now. This is it. Your life is made up of a string of moments. It’s your attention to them that will make it magical.
Much love and till next time,
Live with JOY and PASSION,
Karin xx
*they inspired this post
