Being so busy with work and life in general, when is the last time you stopped to enjoy the moment? I am constantly someone who feels like I must be doing something. If I am waiting for dinner to finish cooking I am on the tablet or computer. If I am eating I feel like I should be playing a card game with the wife or watching something with her. I just feel like I need to be doing something. I am not someone who just sits on a porch enjoying the moment. I know that Jason at Dividend Mantra mentioned before, I don’t recall which post, but he is just happy being present. Perhaps I should spend more time just being focused on what is now and enjoying it to the fullest.
If it wasn’t going to be so cold this weekend, I could just sit outside on our newly stained deck. Or have a small fire and just enjoy the outdoors. But we can always go for a bike ride and enjoy the outdoors and the wonderful colors that fall brings. Or watching a sunset go down much like your life is arriving at its very own sunset, so to speak. What about you, would you seek a moment of peace if you had 29 days left to live? Or would you try to be as active as possible?
I’m seeking out meaningful moments. That might be enjoying the long commute in without distractions of blogging. That might be an actual activity like going to a pumpkin patch. But each thing becomes a choice of how it contributes to my short time.
Exactly Kirsten, I think we need to stop and enjoy each moment we have as much as possible.
I think I would want both. I would want to have some fun active things mixed in with some quite moments too. It’s all about the balance for me.
Sure you can have fun being busy doing activities, I just wouldn’t want to overwhelm whatever remaining days I have running around trying to “fit” everything in.
Kipp,
Great post!
And thanks for the mention.
I definitely think being present is incredibly important in regards to being happy. It allows you to focus your mind and actually enjoy being in the now. I know it’s natural to worry about tomorrow and focus on what you don’t already have, but I always try to be happy for who I am, where I am, and what I already have. Therefore, if I found out I was dying I’d simply do as I’m doing now. I’d probably relax more and write less, but, overall, I’m already living my own dream. Always wanting more will surely lead you to disappointment. Just being alive is a gift, so to find out I was dying faster (I’m already dying one day at a time anyway) would only reinforce that belief.
Best regards!
No problem Jason, if you can recall when you mentioned that I would gladly link to your post.
And I think this challenge of only living for 31 days (less now of course) is to focus on now and trying to get the most value out of your time. Some of that may be spending money doing activities with loved ones, but it needs to be something of value. I hope that this month will open my perspective and bring me closer to living that dream now as a result!
And yea, if I were actually dying I don’t think I would be spending my time blogging – although it is probably a good idea to write something so your last thoughts are available for your loved ones. Blogging can serve that purpose as well.
That’s a good point. Seems a lot of times we get caught up in working or blogging or whatever, and really just don’t sit and appreciate the fact that we are alive and here at this moment. As for me, I’d spend the first few weeks doing everything I could fit into my schedule (dat bucket list, yo). The last few days, I’d just sit on the balcony with my girlfriend and parents and just watch the world go by. The older you get, the more you realize how little really matters in the grand scheme of things.
Interesting take Dividend Developer. I think I would want a decent amount of time to just spend in the presence of those I care about, more so than chasing down a list of things just to say I did it before I die.
I think most of my activity during the 29 days would be spent with family, sure I’d probably try a few things I always said I wanted to do, sit court side for an NBA game, and maybe a couple adventurous things, but family and peace would come first.
I think that is what I would do except replace NBA with NHL :).
I think a lot of this is about being where you are and not somewhere else. I admit that I get caught up in thinking about other things and not living in the moment. Another key, for me, is to make everything in life enjoyable. You either have to do it or you don’t. If you have to do it, you might as well enjoy it. If you don’t have to do it, don’t do it! lol
I think almost everyone has to do something they might not enjoy, at least for awhile. If you don’t enjoy commuting, you can do things to decrease it, and ultimately no longer commute when you retire, but you still have something until that time comes!