Every year seems to go by faster than the one before. How it is May again I am not sure, but it is here brilliant in its joy, busyness and beauty. Sometimes other moms and I have referred to this month as “May-hem.” Graduations, graduation parties, graduation gifts. Mother’s Day, Mother’s Day gatherings, Mother’s Day gifts. End of school, teacher gifts, college move-outs, planting the garden, cleaning the yard. Endless lists of to-dos. It all can seem overwhelming and exhausting, if we forget the moments.
I often wonder in yoga class why so many people race out the door after the teacher’s “Namaste.” It’s almost as if instead they heard, “Go away!” After a calm class spreading peace through our limbs, they rush, race, roll up their mats, and they are gone. Poof. I breathe in my space grateful for the moment, the quiet ,the calm throughout my body. A moment to take a few more deep breaths and set my intention for the day, or even my intention for the next hour. I wonder why the others even took the time to “yoga themselves” for sixty-minutes, only to undo it all at minute sixty-one.
I often wonder when a long-time lunch or coffee is scheduled with a friend why she rolls in late, breathless, and the first declaration is “I’m so sorry, I have like, an hour,” and for some of that hour she’s checking her phone. This versus the walk with a closer friend where we notice the hawk flying above us and the beautiful mountain view, and treasure the moment and our time.
I often wonder why we hurry when we really don’t have to, and why we don’t stop ourselves more often to ask why we are rushing. I think if we did this, sometimes we would realize that the only deadlines we are trying to meet are our own, and the only obstacles we are putting up are the ones that we, ourselves put there.
I have been guilty of these things as well, but I am finding that when I enjoy the moments and slow down, that I actually am more productive. I lose less things, I am ironically more on time versus when I am hurrying, I have more meaningful conversations, and I enjoy my day so much more. My mistakes are fewer, I eat better, I feel better, and I breathe, better. It is so easy to get wrapped up in the May-hem (or the June-hem, December-hem, any month!) and forget the moment, but taking the moment always seems to win over the racing and rush. Every.single.time.
Do you have friends who always seem frazzled? Always running and never time to stop? Do they seem happy? I feel like their smiles are rare and their worry lines deep. Where’s the fire? I find often that these friends ignite their own sparks, get in their own heads, and then the spark turns to flame. All of this because they have forgotten the joy of the moments. One minute, sixty seconds to take a breath, to stop and say hello, to breathe. Sixty seconds that will not completely ruin or wreck the trajectory of a day. Rather, it might enhance it.
Like photos can freeze a memory, my day is best enjoyed when I too freeze a bit, stop, take it in. Look around. Hold onto the moment. “I am only here now,” I remind myself.
There is not an “it” that is coming, a “thing” I need to get to. It is the moments that make it all. The moments that add up. The moments that matter. Even the little ones.
So, I remind myself,
“Hug a little longer, stay the extra minute, take the time to look at the gorgeous view in front of me. Look up and feel the sun on my face.”
And when I do, I am calmer, stronger, and happier.
Sending wishes for a May of moments vs. Mayhem.
Blessings and love,
Find Your Wings©️