I'm sitting in the car on a Sunday morning. Actually I'm in Kennedy for day two of the Moose Mountain Rodeo, but I've arrived early and there's nobody in sight yet, except a few teenagers picking up garbage from the night before. My daughter reminds me there's a breakfast on, so we'll head over there and grab a bite to eat. A wee while later we're at the grounds again. Yes, a few more people are milling round, but nothing is scheduled on the timetable until this afternoon. An announcement was made last night that a kid's rodeo would be on this morning, but there's no evidence of it yet. Such is the life of a reporter, with timetables at the whim of events. So, I'll just have to sit back and relax in the moment of now.
I have mentioned this concept before, and this is a good time to experience it and expand on it for you. The moment of now is the only moment we have, but we seldom live in it. We get stressed over possible future events, or we berate ourselves for the past, and too often the present moment slips by un-experienced. Follow my thinking as I share this now moment with you. Watch for my awareness of the present, without distraction, as I type this as it happens.
There's a breeze blowing through the open windows of the car, it feels good on the side of my face, I feel the coolness as a refreshing interlude to the heat of the day. Birds are singing in the trees behind me, a white butterfly dances in the air to my left. Some people are just coming into the grounds, a truck is driving past them, and an engine just revved in the distance. I take a deep breath, feeling the air fill my lungs, what a blessing it is to simply breathe. A door on a pickup closes, I look up and see a young lady walking away from it.
There are flags blowing in the wind, two provincial and one national. They are flapping very quickly, the breeze is picking up and is coming from the southwest. A horse just whinnied on the other side of the arena, it is a reminder of why we're here. There it goes again, never noticed how nice a sound it is before. They're taking down a plastic tarp in front of a concession stand, it makes a rippling noise as the wind catches it. Voices carry on the wind, two teenagers walk towards a camper, one is texting on a smartphone.
I take another deep breath, I feel an incredible sense of peace within. The sky is blue, no clouds except a thin streak on the northern horizon. More trucks come in, no cars, just pickups. A couple of flies whiz by in the breeze, they momentarily loop beside the tire of a truck parked beside me. My daughter is sitting in the front of the car, she scrunches down and the leather of the seat squeaks, she listens to music on her phone. Trees bend in the wind, laughter is heard, there's the birdsong again... This is life, this is stress less, this is what it is all about.
You just followed my observations as they were happening. There was no pattern to them, just a complete awareness of what was going on around me, and my interaction with this environment. This is what being in the present moment is all about; it is taking time to feel the moment, to be aware of the detail, the sights and the sounds. Such awareness makes you feel more alive, really it does. It brings you into the world and takes you out of the constant noise of past and future thinking that always goes on in the mind. There is peace in the moment, there is relaxation in the awareness, and there is no stress in the world except that which we bring to it through our perceptions. If you have not tried this simple exercise for a while, take a moment to do it. You may find within it a gentle healing, or a spiritual experience, of just a peace that has eluded you for a long time. Maybe you will re-connect with the joy of living, and begin to live life anew. Give it a try - It is magnificent.
