Day 297: Let the Good Moment Last
Have you ever noticed how quickly we move on from something good?
We finish a project we've been working on for weeks or months, feel that wonderful sense of accomplishment, and before long we're thinking about what needs to happen next.
We have a great day with someone we love, and by the time we're home, our mind has already moved on to tomorrow's schedule.
We get something we've wanted for a long time, and once the initial excitement is over, we start thinking about the next thing we'd like to have or experience.
It's funny how quickly something we once dreamed about can become an ordinary part of our lives.
Of course, that's part of being human. We adapt to things. What once felt exciting and new eventually becomes familiar, and our attention naturally begins looking for something else.
But sometimes I wonder how much enjoyment we leave on the table because we don't give ourselves enough time to really experience what we've already received.
I was thinking about this as I watched the ocean the other morning.
There are days when the water is almost completely calm, and there are days when it's putting on quite a show. The light changes throughout the morning, the tide comes and goes, and depending on the time of year, there can be all sorts of things happening out there.
After living near the ocean for more than three decades, I could easily stop noticing most of it.
And sometimes I do.
I'll look out at the water, appreciate how beautiful it is, and then turn my attention back to whatever I'm working on.
But every now and then, when my mind is quiet, something catches my attention and I stay with it a little longer.
Maybe it's the way the sunlight is moving across the water, or a group of pelicans diving for fish. Sometimes it's simply the sound of the waves and the realization that I get to hear that sound as part of my everyday life.
I notice the snowy egret standing all by itself as the sun comes up. Or the sound of the waves going back out as they cross a field of rocks that's washed up at the edge of the beach.
And when I let myself stay with that appreciation, the experience becomes richer.
Nothing about the ocean has changed. I'm simply giving myself more time to enjoy it.
That's something I've been becoming more conscious of lately.
This morning as I left the dogs in the yard to go watch the sunrise that happened behind the clouds, I didn't take photos, I just enjoyed the huge dark blue clouds that came down to the horizon and the bits of red I could see through the cracks as the sun rose where I couldn't really see it.
We spend so much time learning how to focus our thoughts and feelings on what we want to create. We visualize, script, set intentions, and practice feeling the emotions we believe we'll experience when our desires become part of our lives.
But what happens when those desires actually arrive?
Do we give them the same level of attention we gave them when we were imagining them?
Or do we quickly move on to the next desire?
I can look around my life today and see so many things that were once only ideas in my imagination.
Living on the water was once a dream.
Having the freedom to create my own schedule was once a dream.
Doing work that allows me to share what I've learned while living the lifestyle I choose was once a dream.
Even the simpler things, like having my dogs nearby while I work, enjoying the sound of the ocean, or being able to take a beach walk in the morning, are part of a life I consciously chose.
And yet, because they're familiar now, it's easy to give them less attention than something new I'm working toward.
Last winter when I spent every other week at the motorhome, I was on the beach for sunrise every day, no matter how cold or windy it was.
Now, a lot of mornings I look out the window, see clouds and tell myself the sun won't be visible, so I don't stop to go out.
That's where appreciation becomes such a powerful spiritual practice. A practice we continue the entire day.
When we stop and recognize something good that's already present, we bring ourselves back into alignment with the very feelings we've been wanting to experience.
The freedom.
The peace.
The enjoyment.
The satisfaction.
The love.
The pleasure.
The fulfillment.
The connectedness.
Those feelings are available to us in the experiences we are already having, and the more consciously we notice them, the more familiar they become.
There's also something interesting about how appreciation changes our experience of time.
When we're rushing through something pleasant, it can feel as though the moment is over almost before we noticed it. But when we really pay attention to what's happening, we begin seeing details we would otherwise have missed.
Just at dinner we can experience this.
The conversation becomes more enjoyable because we're fully listening. The meal becomes more satisfying because we're actually tasting it.
And the good moments seem to have a little more room to breathe.
We don't have to make a special occasion out of everything or stop what we're doing every time something good happens. But we can develop the habit of noticing when life is giving us something we've asked for, even when it arrives in a very ordinary form.
I love creating new things, and I don't see myself ever reaching a point where I stop having ideas, dreams, and desires. That's part of what makes life exciting for me.
But I also want to keep getting better at receiving and enjoying what's already here. Because that is part of conscious creation too.
It's wonderful to imagine a future that makes us feel excited to be alive. And it's just as wonderful to recognize when we're already living something that a previous version of ourselves was hoping to experience.
We can have new dreams while continuing to appreciate the ones that have already come true.
And sometimes, instead of immediately asking ourselves what comes next, we can simply stay with the good feeling a little longer.
Let the moment have our full attention so we can enjoy what we've received.
And remember that this ordinary day may contain something we once would have considered extraordinary.
Today's Gentle Practice
Think about something in your life today that you once wanted, hoped for, or dreamed about.
Ask yourself:
Am I still allowing myself to enjoy this as much as I wanted to when it was only a dream?
Give it a little more attention today.
Notice what you appreciate about it, how it feels to have it in your life, and what it makes possible for you.
Let yourself enjoy something you've already created before turning your attention to what's next.
With you,
Lynn
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