NOW! NOW! NOW!

So, I spent my lunch at the beach, as it is right across from our office. I made my way across the scorching hot sand, into the water, just enough to cool down my feet. I stepped into the sand as the tide pulled back and then ran away from the crashing waves, just as the little kids were, except that I couldn't step back into the office with a soggy dress. The little kids probably went to Ben 'N' Jerry's afterward, as they are only focused on enjoying summer.

So then I thought: "Maybe I ought to snap a pic of this moment" as that seems to be this generation's obsession. I was so inspired by the ease of these children's mood. They seemed to be focused on just the ocean, where as I was busy pondering whether or not to pull out my iPhone (this is why I do not have a photo for this entry).

This thought made me realize that we're living in such a time where we document EVERYTHING, and yes, I'm guilty; but I was able to decide, in this moment of connecting with nature, with the season, with the mood/ environment of summer all around, that "Nope-that would just spoil this moment."

What I'm getting at here is that WE'RE NOT PRESENT.

So, I'm here writing this because I thought I'd share this experience with you, so that you can learn as well; and maybe it won't stick for you, but hopefully you'll be a smidge more aware of the fact that you may be blowing an incredible moment. I have these conversations a lot with my friends about tweeting and Facebook about: who cares where you're at, what you're doing, or thinking. If anything, it's a place to brag about how cool you are, but we all participate because we can, and because it's kind of fun, like a guilty pleasure. We're so caught up in all of this posting/ updating/ tweeting/ blogging about EVERYTHING we do/ see/ think / hear/ feel that that amazing moment we experience gets lost in us trying to record it so our focus isn't on the experience anymore, but rather CAPTURING that experience.

We (and I say 'we' because I am guilty of everything) are so in to preserving that moment as if we're never going to experience it again- and yes, that may be true for some experiences, but, well, what I'm getting at here is that I recognized that we spend so much time elsewhere: dwelling on the past, planning the future, in transit from point A to point B, that we lose the NOW. And it isn't long before the now becomes the past, so I say, in those moments that you are trying so hard to record, worry about preserving AFTER the fact, or let someone else capture the spontaneity of your experience (they'll probably capture it more organically than you might be able to). And I'm not saying not to record anything, as it is fun to keep track of life, just don't forget to live...

LIVE IN THE NOW! (sometimes...)