Wake up to Today

Make the most of every moment, whatever that moment may bring. The past is gone forever, don’t live there. Cherish your memories each day. The future is unknown, don’t live there. Dream of light, not darkness, each day. Live in the present moment- the only moment of time in which you have control. Now and its history. Now and it’s over. It doesn’t mean cease only the good days, or the days when you feel motivated, or the days when you’re feeling at the top of your game. It means Carpe Diem everyday. That’s not only the best answer to death. It means the true meaning of life.

- from an audiobook, (I would tell you which one if only I could remember)

I got back to my desk and realized that I’m holding a binder clip in my hand. Where did I get this from? How did I end up with it in my hand? What the heck was I just doing? This is scary. It’s like having amnesia and finding yourself in the middle of nowhere and not remembering how you got there.

I stopped by the “food area,” where everyone leaves food here at work, to read the box of truffles that happened to call to me. A coworker mentioned that she left the binder clip over at the food area when we finished the bag of M&M’s, which was closed with the binder clip. The clip must have been on top of the truffles box and I must have picked it up before picking up the box to read the label. My mind was preoccupied by a couple of different news from people and many other things of what I need to do today. I am not all here today because I’m, or more like my mind is in the past and the future.

What is important? What do we need to concentrate on? There are so many things to think about, remember, or plan for. How can we manage all of it? How do we deal with the situations, both good and bad, that we encounter each day?

Sometimes we are on top of the world, sometimes we are not. We are never in the same place. We are never always happy or always sad. We are never always rich, or always poor. Change is the only constant thing.

We try to remember the good memories, but try to forget the bad ones. We reminisce about the days of our youth or other happy times. We wish for a good future; make plans on how we would like to live when we get older. Sometimes we can’t wait until the day comes so that we can fulfill our dreams. Memories and dreams are both important parts of our lives. They make up who we are or who we foresee ourselves to be years from now. But we often get easily caught in the past or the future and forget to live in the moment. I am noticing more and more that I do not live in the moment. My head is so busy with activities of my “to do” list and trying to remember what else I need to follow up on or need to give or do for someone. I find myself being so lost in the past and the future that I don’t even realize what I’m presently doing.