Photo by jeffreyw

Celebrate the temporary - don’t wait until tomorrow.
Live today. Don’t wait until all the problems are solved.
You will wait forever.
Eternity will come and go and you will still be waiting.
Stop grieving the past. There is joy and beauty in today.
It is temporary - here now and gone - so celebrate it while you can.
Celebrate the temporary.

~Clyde Reid

We are thrilled to have Sue Knight back with us. Enjoy the wisdom of the moment that she wrote about!

At lunch last week, my colleagues asked why I like volunteering for Hospice. They got me thinking about springtime, lifetime, and how “the temporary” keeps me in balance.
I cherish taking walks in the springtime. Spring changes more rapidly than winter. In winter, the tree branches stand stark against the sky; beautiful, yes, but pretty much the same from day to day. Spring is different – the first colors peek out early, and they don’t last. The flowering seems to go from nothing to spectacular to gone in the blink of an eye. The leaves aren’t there, and then they are, tiny and chartreuse; and then almost overnight they’re thick and dark green. It’s easier to pay attention in the spring; and not just because new delights are arriving daily. It’s also because they won’t last.

I cherish too volunteering for hospice, which involves spending time with families in the last six months of a member’s life. While supporting their quality of life is my priority, I always gain much more than I give. Those who know their time in life is short pay better attention. They have a razor-sharp sense of what matters, and what doesn’t. Sometimes patients want to talk about these things; other times the lessons come from sitting quietly with them, helping their caregivers, or playing a game of Backgammon and knowing it may be their last. Of course, there is sadness when someone I’ve come to know and care about is gone; but that only strengthens my gratitude for having had the opportunity to share such special moments with them. I’ve developed a ritual whenever I leave a patient’s home: Gazing toward the sky, I drink in everything in sight, and realize how awesome – and temporary – this lifetime is.

So, springtime walks and hospice volunteering remind me of the temporariness, and sweetness, of life. Here are some other ways. Focus on:

• Your breath. Even a minute of focus can bring your attention to the air entering and leaving your body. Try this: Observe your breath without attempting to alter it while silently saying “in” with each in-breath, “out” with each out-breath. Notice the creative pause between in and out; it’s the continual ending and new beginning for all of us.
  This is the day the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24


• Making the most of your vacation from eternity. No matter what their specific beliefs, most people agree that the hereafter is probably very different from this human existence. So……why not consider life as a brief vacation from that bigger picture, and enjoy it to the fullest?
  
• One sense at a time. This is the opposite of multi-tasking! As you go about your day, alternate awareness of sight, hearing, touching, smelling, tasting. For example, while changing the sheets, begin by focusing just on what you see – the bed, the room, the linens, your own arms in motion. Then, move your attention to touch - the sensation of the cloth between your fingers, your feet on the floor. Next, attend to what you hear – the rustle of the bedclothes, the birds outside, music, the fan. Focus completely on each temporary moment, one sense at a time.


• Colors and dimensions (Be as one suddenly born into color. Do it now. ~Rumi) Pretend your world unexpectedly includes color or a third dimension. Watching a black-and-white movie or removing your glasses during a 3-D movie can help you experience the world in a new way when you come outside.

New ideas help us all keep celebrating the temporary, and that helps us keep a balanced life. What celebration strategies can you share?