I have never been a content person, if I was here I wanted to be there, and then when I got there I wanted to be somewhere else. Terrible I know, but I was always on the move, pushing for the next thing. So being in the moment, was just not in my cards for most of my life. It is a long complicated answer as to why I was that way so I won't get into it in this blog. And as an event planner, I am hardly done with one event and I am prepping and planning the next. No time to enjoy the event I am in the midst of.
It something has been changing over the last year or so. I am enjoying being home more, enjoying sitting with a book, not having every night or hour filled with projects and events. Is it my age? Possibly. But I think it is something more, I am finally feeling more content in my mind and body.
A friend whom I reconnected with after over 25 years, told me that the big difference she saw in me, was I seemed more content with my life than when I last saw her. I definitely was in a different place 25 years ago. I had small children, a full time job and a badly behaved husband. So being happy was sometimes a challenge, never mind being content. All I did was rush from place to place, with few moments to be really in the moment, worrying about everything. I have lived and learned so much since then.
Here are a few lessons I have learned over the years
- it is not how much you do that counts, it is in how and who you do it with.
- There is always a choice
- I can say no to things I don't want to do
- Being busy does not mean you are being productive
- Multi-tasking is over rated.
- It is okay to ask for help
- Eat your kill. (I will explain)
I met a lovely lady also named Diana, she is an instructor at NAIT in the Special Events program, and during a meeting with her, she quietly said "you need to eat your kill". I know, I thought, how gross, but then she explained. When a lioness kills her prey, she enjoys the meal,, she doesn't rush off to kill again.
Diana said to me, " Dianna you hardly enjoy the things you work so hard at, you need to relish the moment, enjoy and celebrate what you have accomplished. She was so right, it took a stranger to see this, and I appreciated her for sharing her wisdom with me. I do have to work at it, as I have spend most of my life rushing around, but I feel I live in the moment now more than I ever have.
For me the times that really stand still are the ones I know to hold on to. Live music, live theatre, biking, yoga, cross-country skiing, painting, deep conversations with friends and special moments with my husband.
Find the things that make time stand still, where you don't know if it has been 10 minutes or an hour and do more of that.
As I sit here now, at 4:30 am, in the warmth of my living room, hearing very little but my cat purr and my husband's sleeping noises from the bedroom, I sit in this moment of gratitude. So thankful for safety, love, good health and for my creative muse that wakes me with ideas.
Enjoy every moment, life is Fabulous when you slow down and enjoy it. Look at the sky, smell the rose and look into the eyes of the ones you love.