Waking Up To This Day      

Each morning before I get out of bed, I have been reminding myself to "wake up to this day." And since I am a slow learner, I keep reminding myself to "wake up to this moment" as I go about my day. I have noticed that, if I am not careful, my thoughts dwell on something that has already happened in the past or something that might happen in the future. And by focusing on the past or the future, I miss out on what is happening (and seeing the beauty) right now in this moment - the sun shining on my face, the smell of my morning coffee, the sensation of the mosquito that has landed on my arm, the sound of one of my favorite songs as it's playing or even something that a client has just said.

The inspiration to make this an ongoing practice in my life came from Paula D'Arcy's beautiful book Waking Up To This Day. In the book, Paula outlines steps for living in the present moment and accepting the perfection of life as it unfolds-something easier said than done.

Awakening to this day and seeing the beauty in this moment (even if it's unpleasant) takes constant practice. D'Arcy says that we must decide what really matters, give up expecting life to be a certain way, make peace with change, surrender to the unknown, realize that an apparent detour may have unseen importance and live with an open heart. She speaks from her own personal tragedy of surviving an automobile accident that took the lives of her husband and young daughter in 1975 and then giving birth to a second daughter six months later. As she worked through the unbearable pain, she says she was able to eventually open her eyes "to the simplicity and power in the ordinary moments of daily living, and be deeply stirred by the lessons life has to offer."

Author and Zen teacher Joko Beck writes, "Our function is not to live forever, but to live in this moment." In order to 'live in this moment' we must have the trust and willingness to be a full participant in life rather than resisting what is. We must acknowledge "what is" and experience ourselves as we are, rather than trying to be some other way.   

Are you fully participating in your life or are you spending most of your time dwelling on some irritation in the past or your dream for the future? The choice is yours. But during those brief times when I have been able to be awake and fully present, I have felt truly alive!