Today started off with an early morning run on legs that were stiff, tired, and sore from yoga yesterday. While on the surface it felt rough there was something about it that just felt great! It meant my legs had been worked hard yesterday and they are getting stronger. Sure, the run was a little more difficult and slower than normal, but I couldn’t help but think about how that pain meant that I was getting better and really pushing myself. I stayed present in the soreness and didn’t shy from it, I soaked it in and enjoyed the feeling of improvement.
As I got onto I90 on my way home I fired up a song that just seemed right in the moment. The volume button on my radio slowly crept up until it was pretty much ear splitting loud and I was loving every minute of it. Before I knew it the song was over and I was almost home. In that moment I realized that I’d totally lost myself in the song for that moment. I was bouncing my head around like a crazy person, hammering away on the air piano, singing along and just soaking it all in. Nothing else existed, just me and the song (and of course the road). It was awesome!
After our last night of yoga we headed out for a beverage with friends. When we walked out we saw a glorious sunset that seemed about to turn into something I still have burned into my brain from when I was a kid… a Grandpa Lamping sunset. One time we were at my grandparents for a week or so in the Sumer there was this spectacular sunset in which the sun just got bigger and bigger as it slowly fell out of the sky. I remember Grandpa going in to get his camera to get a picture of it and he was just soaking it in, totally in a state of childlike bliss like it was the first sunset he’d ever seen. Even though I was only a young kid that moment sunk and I’ll never forget that sunset or the look of pure joy on his face. While I wasn’t able to get in the right place before the sun had set this time, just seeing a Grandpa Lamping sunset rekindled that old memory and had me smiling from ear to ear.
While all three are very different there is a common theme now as I think about it. In each of those moments I was completely present. There was no little voice in my head, no brain chatter, just me in the moment and it was outstanding! How much more joyful would I be if I could focus that tightly in the present more often? That’s something I’ll have to keep working towards.