At This Very Moment

July 29, 2021

I once heard a wedding DJ tell his client that “people don’t dance to songs, they dance to moments”. Global pandemic notwithstanding, I have enjoyed some wonderful moments in the last few months. And although I didn’t dance, I think I’ve gotten better at enjoying them — especially when the next wonderful moment isn’t a guarantee.

As you can probably tell from the pictures on my blog, I’m even less of a photographer than I am a dancer. Making a fuss about getting the perfect photo is a classic way to ruin “the moment”. I try to avoid doing so for the sake of everyone involved. But I also love having something tangible to look back on, so I don’t always stick to this in practice.

While checking my calendar the other day, I caught myself wondering how I would look back on a certain event once it was over. The event hadn’t even happened yet. Worse, I’d given zero thought to how much fun it might be while it was happening. In the same way, my mind sometimes strays into the future even when truly great things are happening in the present. This is another way to ruin the moment (then feel guilty for ruining it, and feel guilty for feeling guilty, and so on).

It can happen to anyone. But I’m trying to remind myself that the best way to enjoy the moment is to be fully present in it. Every moment has the potential to become abundant — but only if you honor it by focusing on just that one. And as the motivational poster has been insisting for years, “Today is a gift – that’s why it’s called the present.”