Not many of us actually do that...live for today. We think we do. We pretend to smell the roses while trying to figure out how to pull off the next year's worth of projects with home, family and career, but it's not real. We barely catch a whiff of those beautiful pink antique roses growing a few steps from our front door. Let's face it, we humans are procrastinators.
It's easy to do--procrastinate. We believe there will always be tomorrow, or next month, or next Christmas, or next year. But that's not really true. How much would a vacation with your family be worth if you were given only a year to live? Or , if you have a terrible accident that alters you, making that family vacation impossible? Buddhism addresses this in several ways:
If you think about everything as temporary (which you should given the temporal nature of humans...), you have embraced the Buddhist concept of impermanence. And good for you if you can actually do that! Buddhists also believe in being mindful of every moment. Non-action is considered action if you're being mindful. I practice this kind of meditation often--it's a lot easier to swallow mindfulness than impermanence. Impermanence means death--it reminds us of our mortality--and it is very difficult to imagine the world without yourself in it while still living. However, we really need to face our temporary, temporal reality--otherwise, when we one day meet our parameter's end, we will inevitable face a lifetime of regret.
I have to tell you, dearest readers, that it is far better to spend time connecting with the people you care about than getting that project done early for work, or delaying taking the family to ice cream on a hot summer night so you can get in a few extra hours at the office. Work is important--we all need money to survive--but survival alone won't feed the human soul.
You'll never regret seizing moments big and small with the people you love. And we all have this romantic fantasy about what we would do if we knew we only had a few months to live. The list usually includes things like expensive, extensive travel, purchasing luxury items, or trying things like jumping out of an airplane or off a high bridge...but those aren't really the things you'll cherish when you're faced with that awful moment. The things you'll cherish are the moments you connected with people in positive ways. Maybe you helped someone get a job. Maybe you were able to volunteer time to build a house for a person in need. Maybe it was something as simple as spending time with your family on a Saturday afternoon. I guarantee, you'll NEVER regret those connections. You'll also NEVER get a better opportunity to make them than today.
So why are you still reading this entry??? Get out there and LIVE for TODAY! Take it from someone whose lived with acute mortality--there really is no time like the present. ;)
Until next time, dearest readers....
It's easy to do--procrastinate. We believe there will always be tomorrow, or next month, or next Christmas, or next year. But that's not really true. How much would a vacation with your family be worth if you were given only a year to live? Or , if you have a terrible accident that alters you, making that family vacation impossible? Buddhism addresses this in several ways:
If you think about everything as temporary (which you should given the temporal nature of humans...), you have embraced the Buddhist concept of impermanence. And good for you if you can actually do that! Buddhists also believe in being mindful of every moment. Non-action is considered action if you're being mindful. I practice this kind of meditation often--it's a lot easier to swallow mindfulness than impermanence. Impermanence means death--it reminds us of our mortality--and it is very difficult to imagine the world without yourself in it while still living. However, we really need to face our temporary, temporal reality--otherwise, when we one day meet our parameter's end, we will inevitable face a lifetime of regret.
I have to tell you, dearest readers, that it is far better to spend time connecting with the people you care about than getting that project done early for work, or delaying taking the family to ice cream on a hot summer night so you can get in a few extra hours at the office. Work is important--we all need money to survive--but survival alone won't feed the human soul.
You'll never regret seizing moments big and small with the people you love. And we all have this romantic fantasy about what we would do if we knew we only had a few months to live. The list usually includes things like expensive, extensive travel, purchasing luxury items, or trying things like jumping out of an airplane or off a high bridge...but those aren't really the things you'll cherish when you're faced with that awful moment. The things you'll cherish are the moments you connected with people in positive ways. Maybe you helped someone get a job. Maybe you were able to volunteer time to build a house for a person in need. Maybe it was something as simple as spending time with your family on a Saturday afternoon. I guarantee, you'll NEVER regret those connections. You'll also NEVER get a better opportunity to make them than today.
So why are you still reading this entry??? Get out there and LIVE for TODAY! Take it from someone whose lived with acute mortality--there really is no time like the present. ;)
Until next time, dearest readers....
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