Living in the Moment

This past week New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani decided not to run for the soon to be vacated seat of the Senator representing the state of New York. He withdrew from the race because of the discovery that he has prostate cancer. In part of his statement he mentioned that the three most important things that a person should concern themselves with in life are: 1. Take care of your health. 2. Give and receive Love. and 3. Business. Giuliani also said he received some bad advice when he was young, “It is better to be respected than loved.” Today, he disagrees with that philosophy. Whether you’re a fan of the Mayor or not, one thing is for sure….if you take a look at the man’s eyes, there is no doubt this medical problem has had a profound affect on his life.

So many of us, myself included, are guilty of focusing so far ahead in our lives that we totally forget about the Moment. We assume all will go according to plan, and that two weeks down the road everything will fall neatly into place, while each day getting there becomes a blur. We act like an express train that skips local stops, believing after a while that those stops are irrelevant. There is so much Life in each Moment that few of us are able to experience and soak in all that is there. Isn’t it ironic that in most cases only when we have conflict do we fully understand how precious each Moment truly is?

When we don’t embrace the Moment everything goes on fast forward. Our five year old children, in the blink of an eye, turn into eighteen year old adults, and we are left wondering where all the time went. We’re all just so busy. The weeks roll by and before you know it another holiday season comes around. The more we focus on the Moment, the more we are alive, the longer we live, and time slows down. One example for this is, have you ever opened a bag of candy, and gobbled handfuls, until it was empty? Have you also picked, one by one, savored the taste, until you preceded to the next one? Tell me, which way lasted longer? And which did you enjoy more?

What really makes us happy? For me, it is to simplify. The less I have to take care of materially, the happier I am. That extra car, that bigger house, not only costs more money, but costs more time. In society today many of us are tapped out….not only financially, but also time-wise. The Moment is the real key to the beginning stage of happiness. All that we are is in the Moment. The past is gone, and the future lies ahead…while we exist in the Now. The Moment is so important because it is the closest point to silence, and when all is silent, we can truly hear.

Live every Moment,