Wake up.
Rush.
Get there.
Do it.
Rush somewhere else.
Come home tired.
And somewhere in all that motion…
DID YOU ACTUALLY EXPERIENCE THE DAY?
The hustle-bustle of everyday life is upon us now more than ever.
Before our feet even touch the floor in the morning, our minds are already running down the road ahead of us.
Where do I have to go?
What do I have to do?
Who do I have to call?
What am I forgetting?
What’s waiting for me?
We haven’t even entered the day yet…
AND WE’RE ALREADY TRYING TO FINISH IT.
Then comes the routine.
Jump in the shower.
Do the necessaries.
Dress for success.
Coffee up.
Grab everything.
Check the phone.
Hit the road.
GO!
TYPICAL DAY
What I just described is a typical day for millions of people.
But here is my question:
WHAT MADE TODAY DIFFERENT FROM YESTERDAY?
Anything?
We rush toward a destination.
Arrive.
Do whatever we came there to do.
Then rush toward another destination.
Arrive again.
Leave again.
Destination after destination.
But what about the JOURNEY between them?
Did you take any of it in?
Did you notice the details?
Did you see anything beautiful?
Did you hear anything interesting?
Did you notice LIFE happening while you were busy getting somewhere?
THE HUSTLE-BUSTLE STRAINS YOUR LIFE MUSCLE
There is nothing wrong with being busy.
Things have to get done.
Responsibilities are real.
Work matters.
Appointments matter.
Families need us.
Bills don’t pay themselves.
But constant hurry has a peculiar price.
Eventually we become so efficient at getting through the day…
that we stop RECEIVING the day.
MMM?
That’s different.
Life was never meant merely to be processed.
It was meant to be experienced.
DON’T LIVE THE DAY BEFORE IT ARRIVES
We recently talked about living in the moment.
Here is where that becomes practical.
The mind likes to leave NOW and run ahead.
At breakfast it is already at work.
At work it is already thinking about lunch.
At lunch it is worrying about the afternoon.
In the afternoon it wants to go home.
At home it starts thinking about tomorrow.
Then tomorrow arrives…
and we do it again.
Where exactly did TODAY go?
THE MOMENT IS STILL THE REWARD
One of our archive Pearls said it plainly:
THE MOMENT IS THE REWARD.
Everything you actually experience happens NOW.
Not yesterday.
Not tomorrow.
NOW.
The coffee you are drinking.
The person speaking to you.
The sunlight coming through the window.
The drive.
The walk.
The meal.
The conversation.
The breeze.
Even the ordinary little task in front of you.
When we continually abandon the moment mentally, we leave the only place where LIFE can actually meet us.
REFLECTION AND PONDERING
Did you set aside even a few moments today to simply LOOK?
Not analyze.
Not judge.
Not photograph it.
Not post it.
LOOK.
Did you notice other people coming and going just like you?
Did you notice the sky?
A tree?
Someone laughing?
An elderly couple walking together?
A child studying something that adults stopped noticing years ago?
Did you hear something that made you smile?
There were thousands of little things available today.
How many did you RECEIVE?
TODAY HAS NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE
Think about that.
This particular day has never existed before.
It will never exist again.
The arrangement of people, circumstances, weather, conversations, opportunities, thoughts, sounds and experiences occurring TODAY is a one-time production.
And we’re rushing through it because…
WE HAVE THINGS TO DO?
Of course we do.
Do them.
But don’t become so occupied with getting through life that you miss the fact that you are IN IT.
DID YOU CONTRIBUTE?
Now let’s go another step.
Did somebody’s day become a little better because YOU were in it?
It doesn’t have to be a big deal.
A smile.
A sincere compliment.
Holding a door.
Helping someone carry something.
Letting another driver merge.
Calling somebody who might need to hear your voice.
Listening instead of waiting for your turn to talk.
Saying:
THANK YOU.
Or perhaps:
HEY, YOU LOOK PRETTY GOOD TODAY.
HEY, YOU LOOK PRETTY GOOD TODAY
I often come across people who are well dressed and obviously took some time preparing themselves.
So why not acknowledge it?
You look sharp today.
That’s a beautiful outfit.
Nice hat.
You look good.
It takes seconds.
Maybe they shrug it off.
Maybe they smile.
Maybe nobody has said anything kind to them all week.
Who knows?
They took the time.
You noticed.
Something passed between two human beings.
That is not wasted time.
THAT IS LIFE.
WE STOPPED DOING SOME OF THIS
That’s the funny part.
Most of us already know how to do these things.
We didn’t lose the ability.
We got BUSY.
We stopped looking.
Stopped acknowledging.
Stopped wondering.
Stopped talking to strangers.
Stopped noticing details.
Stopped letting little moments interrupt our important schedule.
Perhaps we don’t need to learn another complicated philosophy.
Maybe we simply need to start doing again some of the little things we stopped doing.
IS LIFE A BLUR?
You can go through your days until they all look alike.
Monday.
Tuesday.
Wednesday.
Thursday.
Friday.
Weekend!
Then start again.
Weeks become months.
Months become years.
And when you look backward, whole sections can appear as one giant BLUR.
Or…
you can mark a day.
Not necessarily with something expensive or dramatic.
Mark it with PRESENCE.
Something you noticed.
Something you learned.
Somewhere you wandered.
Someone you helped.
Something beautiful you stopped long enough to behold.
A memory needs a little attention before it can become one.
BE HAPPY TODAY
Another archive Pearl reminds us:
BE HAPPY TODAY.
Not because everything is perfect.
Not because every problem disappeared.
But because there are small and seemingly insignificant things surrounding us constantly that become significant the moment we actually NOTICE them.
The Earth is showing off all day long.
Sunrise.
Clouds.
Birds.
Weather.
People.
Animals.
Trees.
Sounds.
Movement.
Life.
LOOK AT ME, it seems to say.
Maybe we should accept the invitation.
WONDER IS STILL AVAILABLE
Remember our Pearl I WONDER…?
Wonder didn’t disappear because we became adults.
We simply stopped giving it enough room.
Children can examine a bug for twenty minutes.
Adults walk past a magnificent sunrise because they’re late for work.
Who’s really ahead?
Wonder slows the clock without changing time.
For one little moment, the schedule loses its grip and something larger gets our attention.
That’s good medicine for the hustle-bustle.
SLOW DOWN WITHOUT STOPPING
I’m not suggesting everybody quit working, cancel appointments and sit under a tree all day.
You can live fully while moving.
You can notice while driving.
Listen while walking.
Observe while waiting.
Appreciate while working.
Give while going.
You don’t necessarily need MORE TIME.
You need more PRESENCE inside the time you already have.
That’s a very different proposition.
MAKE-UP ON YOUR NEXT WAKE-UP
So here is the experiment.
Tomorrow morning…
before the mind gets fifty miles ahead of the body…
STOP.
Just for a moment.
Look around.
You woke up.
There is the first gift.
Now decide something:
I AM NOT GOING TO TURN THIS DAY INTO A COPY OF YESTERDAY.
Find something.
Notice something.
Help somebody.
Explore something.
Say something kind.
Take another road home.
Look at the sky.
Taste your food.
Listen when somebody talks.
Leave one little mark of YOU somewhere in the day.
FINAL THOUGHT
The hustle-bustle doesn’t have to disappear.
Maybe we simply need to stop allowing it to carry US away with it.
You have appointments.
Keep them.
You have work.
Do it well.
You have somewhere to go.
GO.
But while traveling…
LOOK AROUND.
Life isn’t only waiting at your destination.
It is occurring between the destinations too.
And when you wake up tomorrow…
don’t make it another day like every other day.
MAKE IT A DAY LIKE NO OTHER DAY.
You only get it once.
— Richie
Pearls for the Soul
when you feed the soul, you feed everything.
https://pearlsforthesoul.com
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