I stayed up late one night last week watching the weather to try to better understand how much snow we would get in NYC by morning. All of the forecasters spoke in that serious and ominous tone. I found myself feeling dread about the morning commute and negative about the day to come. My mind was far from being in the moment and I could not enjoy my warm bed and cozy cover. I was already living out the next day with projections of discomfort and cancellations, and had a restless sleep. When I woke up the next day, I was exhausted and both of my children were disappointed that there was not a snow day. My younger one resisted getting out of bed and ate breakfast at a snail’s pace. My teenager lost control of her mood and was quite difficult to manage. I started to get upset that they would both be late for school.
Then, all of a sudden, in the middle of it all I was able to see my resistance to the moment and the day. I realized that my lack of acceptance of the moment was the source of my stress and doom and gloom scenario. I took a deep breath and accepted everyone being late. I took a deep breath and put my snowshoes on when it was time to leave. I walked my younger daughter to school and we laughed about the deep puddles and discussed whether it should have been a snow day. Sure, we were a bit wet and uncomfortable, but we also were happy and talkative. After dropping her off, I walked back home and felt appreciation that my feet were not wet and I admired everyone’s tenacity around me as they all walked a little slower to their destinations. Interestingly, when I stopped resisting the experience and projecting negativity, I felt grateful and interested in what was happening around me.
How often do we dread future events in our lives? We lock hard into how we believe that future event will be and suffer greatly before we even get there. We also leave the moment and miss the life that is before us.
Let’s try to remember that Maybe whatever we are worrying about will end up okay, Maybe it will get better or Maybe we will find a way to accept what is happening and still find the joy of living! This way we can accept the moment with more ease and still have hope for warmer and sunnier days.