Africa living in the moment
I sat down to enjoy reading a book the other day and I caught myself also turning on the television. I caught myself and I realized that I was trying to multitask reading which stunned me and disappointed me.
It seems that everyone, including me, is trying to do more than one thing at once and I realized that some of my best times are when I am doing just one thing and thinking about nothing else. I was reading another blog and they used the phrasing “splendour of the moment” and I thought to myself how much better it is to live that in the moment instead of on autopilot while we multitask and are tuned out.
Think about these examples of mindfulness and living in the splendour of the moment.
Catching the last rays of the day
Sitting along a lake with a crackling campfire, the sun going down, the fire popping and crackling as the light fades. Soon the lake is dark and the fire dims, I can smell the smoke and I’m thinking how happy I feel being out of touch from emails and texts.
I can’t make this fancy a drink
A day of cold fresh air and exercise in the wintertime, tobogganing and laughing and then a nice warm mug of cocoa with marshmallows warming my fingers as I savour the rib soreness from laughter.
Being in the delivery room for the arrival of my long awaited firstborn. I am excited, nervous, joyful. Telling myself to capture the memory so I never forget every second.
The wonder of watching my daughter walk across the grass in her wedding dress, wonderstruck at the beautiful independent woman she has become. She looks so happy!
My bike at Okanagan lake
The first sunny day my son learned to ride a two wheel bike independently and I can’t keep up running along side to protect him, and I feel proud, and a little worried.
The first breath of wind on my face after five long months in hospital, I feel real excited to be going home finally, and tired.
What I learned is that I need to slow down and spend more time right now experiencing life while it is happening. I have just this one life.
Here is where I think it could be really interesting – pretty please add as a comment below any memory or time that you lived in the splendour of the moment.
Thank you for sharing.
Life and Random Thinking 
https://polldaddy.com/js/rating/rating.jsAww, the kitty looks so cozy. Great pics. 🌹 😊
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My daughter’s cat that we occasionally take of when she travels. In fact little Africa came for Christmas this year
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Cute but opinionated that furry ‘your highness ‘ but we love her.
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Typical cat! 🙂
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Pressed enter before finishing… Anyway, you’re right about multitasking. I do it all the time, and I always feel that I complete tasks half way. Not a good thing. But I ought to practice more focus on one splendid moment.
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I think we are doing habitually now, and in my opinion it is worst when we use our devices while having a conversation
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I would have to say that this Christmas day was one of those times that I just lived in the moment. I was actually able to just enjoy my family’s company with nothing else on my mind. It was a very good Christmas😊
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Wonderful! I will be the moment today because it’s snowing again and I can’t multitask while clearing my driveway of snow.🐧🐧
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Stay warm!
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Minus 8 now and no wind,and snow keeps coming! At least it’s warming up
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Holy cow😲
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This is such an important reminder David. One that immediately comes to mind is an experience I had with my husband a few years ago. We had travelled to the east coast for a holiday & while in Cape Breton, we opted to go whale watching. We jetted out in a little zodiac in search of whales. It wasn’t long before we came across a pod of pilot whales gracefully swimming along side our zodiac. Being a lover of photography, I had my camera perched & ready to snap, as did the other 9 people in the boat. As we all feverishly tried to get a good shot, a little voice in my head said, “what are you doing?” Here I was witnessing an incredible piece of nature & I was so busy trying to get the perfect shot, I was missing it all. I put my camera away that day & sat back & just let my eyes take in all the beauty of the experience.
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Thank you Lynn, so true, a perfect example of living in the splendor of the moment. What a lovely moment!
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Great advice for all of us. Definitely going to try and slow down a bit in 2018
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I love this post DF. We all need an armory of just such moments we can go back to as needed. I especially love when they pop up unannounced and bless my day. Here is one of mine:https://gielliott.wordpress.com/2016/09/01/on-the-beach-at-marrowstone/
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I was pleased to see your comment Ilona, and I will check your link. Looking forward to your next new post.
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DF it is a challenge to write these days. My creativity is being challenged by negatively charged ions emanating from the halls of power, lol! Thanks for the encouragement though…
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Something just to break the writing doldrums? Even something small ?
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I’m trying a retrospective of 2017 but it’s depressing, so I will try to lighten it up or make it meaningful at the very least. Happy New Year to you and yours kind sir.
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Living in the moment is that feeling, the bump of joy I feel when I lay eyes on a friend or family member after however long an absence they have been from my company…call me a girl with the soul of a labrador retriever, who loves to chase and hit a ball on the tennis court, or who likes to meander through wooded trails focusing near and far for little bits of greenery or changes in temp or smell, from the glorious central heated interior of a home, to the moist damp or brilliant heat of the sun on skin; the moment when my eyes light upon the smile of a friend, animal or family member is the inspiration of the moment, that is gilded,best of life and love, and all travails and earthly fear falls away because, in the moment, it is a beautiful world….
…and when dear friend were you shut away in a hospital for 5 months?…
That is indeed four walls of a different planet and your escape must have taken you to the moon!!!
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This reply touched me, made me smile. I love how you’re in tune with your priorities of family and friends. In the five years 1983-1987 I spent long periods at Vancouver General Hospital and the longest was April to September 1986, 5 months. Fresh air was a long cool drink to my parched being.
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