nd Thanksgiving and it won't go away, it slackens only to return. I have had this kind of thing before but not every year, and what I usually do when I get to my wits end like now is I take claritin or allegra or one of those suppressants. This time I am not.New York is gonna get hit with some snow after all.
I can't wait!
I have found as the years progress that one of the hardest things to learn to do is to be in the moment. We are always worried about that test we have on thursday or next week I have that meeting or countless other things that keep us focused on the future because after all that is where our goals are. I remember all the conversations I had with both my grandmother and grandfather on my fathers side. I grew up with them and living nearby so I had all day and daily interaction on this little farm with sheep and chickens and goats and an occasional milk cow. These older people lived in a small town in southern new mexico and even though it was the 70's and they had lived in the area through the generations - my grandmother knew about 10 words and 3 sentences in english yet she knew countless things to do with just about every weed, plant or plant weed that grew around the house. She made whistles out of some leaves and tea out of roots, "you got a problem, shes got a weed that'll fix it"..be it playful or medicinal.. My grandfather, on the other hand, could speak english somewhat and he knew about 10 words and 3 sentences in french, german and the local native american dialect, (he was in world war one and learned them there, well not the tewa language, that came from living near and indian reservation) point is when I was 10 he was 70, when I was 25 he died..he was 95 and every day I saw him and I saw him every day almost from the day I was born until I was 19 or 20, he proclaimed each and every day as the best day of his life...he lived in the moment. Understandably he was old and what kind of future was left for him you might say. Point is it took him his whole life, no matter what, tomorrow gets here if your lucky and he was lucky enough to have thirty four thousand six hundred and seventy five tomorrows....thats a lot considering I have only had 16,425...I am about half way there and I have had some friends die..so their clock stops...lets see if I can make it to 40,000...well by saying so I am no longer living in the moment. I have a goal....hence my conundrum. Anyway my grandparents seemed to have the zen thing down pat, married forever, 5 kids, died old. And every day was lived and maximized like there was no tomorrow.
5 comments:
I think as a society sometimes we become so focused on "the American dream" that it hinders our ability to live in the moment. How can we live in the moment when we're so busy working to keep up with the Jones.
Anyway, hope you're feeling better. I'd tell you to take two aspirin and get to bed, but you know that already. :-)
forget the jones..remember they are trying to keep up with you too. but...always remember though to keep up with your own jones..since those are the only jones that matter.
and thanks for being there.
I was thinking about your living in the moment comment the other day and something that came to mind as I remembered younger days is that during those days, so much more was "new". We were exploring constantly, it wasn't even a matter of choice. It just was. So much of everything was a new experience.
I think we get into routine lives and the electronic society we live in simplifies tasks and frees up time. We don't have to anticipate nearly as much. Letters and correspondence are only seconds away from the receiving end.
I live in the moment by focusing on slowing down the race my mind tries to take. I have to sometimes just stop all the thoughts and hold it like that for as long as possible. It really does work.
I have read that a zen master can expand a second into a lifetime, I would be completely content just to recognize the most important moments in life and learn form them!!
Your Grandparents sound amazing...I would have loved to have some in my life. All that beautiful knowledge they have to share...thanks for sharing this story.
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