Do Not Rush Past the Fleeting Moments

I know this is a recurring subject in my posts, but take comfort in knowing that I don't write about it on the blog nearly as often as it comes to my mind. Maybe I think about this so much lately because I, personally, need to assimilate the quality into my character. But maybe I'm not the only person who could do better in this area. And so I post again about enjoying the moments of today. I'm sure we all have things we look forward to in the future and that is good. It's good to have goals and to work for them, but we shouldn't let reaching for higher heights take over the enjoyment of the present. Of course there will be wondeful things to come if we are actively working for them, but we will inevitably leave other wonderful things behind, so we must learn to savor the experiences of today.

“The biggest mistake I made [as a parent] is the one that most of us make. . . . I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of [my three children] sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages six, four, and one. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less”(Loud and Clear [2004], 10–11).

This is Anna Quindlen, but I actually found her quote here, which is a fabulous read if you're looking for one.