I put in a mobile order for a tall soy latte and egg bites at Starbucks. Usually I walk right in and pick up my stuff, but today I had to wait. The barista asked me my name and when I said, “Zain”, the guy next to me said, “And are you sane too?”
Two choices here: ignore him for the jokey question I’ve heard over 1,000 times or connect. I chose connect.
Me: Somedays. Maybe today.
Jokey Guy: Haha! Thank you for your good humor. Many people do not care for these silly humorous comments.
Me: Never enough humor.
Jokey Guy: You are correct; it is because we do not live in the present. (Seriously, he spoke like this. No contractions or slang, very precise.)
Me: Hum you think that’s the case?
Jokey Guy: (winding up) We are taught to live in the future and the past but not the present? We do not learn this skill.
We miss much by not absorbing the world as we move through it. Living in the future or past, you miss the humor, the true tragedy and beauty of existence, the joy of nature. Here (he pounded his chest) here is where we need to remain to capture life.
Me: Well, you have a point. I never thought about it in quite that way.
Jokey Guy: Indeed! It is something to consider and I postulate that education insists we reside only in the rewards of the future and the regrets of the past. In fact…..
At this point the barista called my name and I moved forward to get my soy latte and get on with the day (living in the future?!). Jokey Guy was still talking about the necessity to live in the present. He gave me some things to think about. No one does teach us to be present, to live and react in the present and it can be hard to learn to be right there where you’re not dreaming of the future or dwelling in the past.
I wished him well. I’m glad that I had an opportunity to see some of the world from his eyes (living in the past?!). I think I can say I was right there with him though, listening and being present.
If you enjoyed this story, let me know how you feel about living in the present. Is it hard for you?
I work with women. We talk about transforming life into the joy it should have been all along. Maybe other things got in the way. Maybe choices we made set us back. But in the end, it’s ourselves we need to please. That’s what I do as a coach.
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