“Life is just like a camera. Focus on what’s important, capture the good times, develop from the negatives, and if things don’t work out, just take another shot.”
~ Unknown
So today, we are 233 days into this year 2013. And for my photo, I ended up sharing beauty over interest. This is the first shot on opening my door. But as the time moved on, a tiny rainbow developed in the sky, and only lasted for about a minute. Not quite pretty enough to post, but interesting none-the-less, as it’s the first I’ve seen in all the hours I’ve sat this year. Really makes one appreciate just how lucky we are to see a rainbow. And simply to wake up each and every day. The present. A gift.
As I’m finishing up getting my house in order for our departure, I’m also dispersing the few things I’ve carried forward with me over the years that were in storage over at my business on St. Croix. From the years 1983 (the year I graduated high school) to 1990-1991 (the year my brother passed away, and I moved to St. Thomas), I have 4 photo albums. I haven’t flipped through them in years.
My mind would really like to get rid of the bulk – digitize them and be done with it. As I look back, some of the photos are simply of nature, and hold no particular memory. Why did I save that, I wonder? Or did I simply insert all photos from the roll? But there is a story to tell in the whole, that will be lost should I choose to break it down. Much like a delicious cake … The ingredients on their own don’t make for much, but added together you end up with something to share.
Looking through those albums is just another reminder of how far I’ve come. The process of photography, journaling, and daily meditation has truly made life much more vibrant. I was thinking yesterday of people who are great story tellers. And I always wondered how they remember things? Are some people just born this way, or did it take practice?? Up until a few years ago, if I didn’t have a photograph of it, the memories would likely be forgotten.
Now one could say that I was living in the moment. But in actuality, it was the exact opposite. I was caught up in the mind, completely distracted from the present. Sure, a few snippets of life stand out, but not the sum total, and surely not an understanding of a long series of days.
This is what mindfulness brings. I watched it yesterday as I cleaned and painted. While I rested in mindfulness, my mind was very distracted. It tends to do that over anything that’s controversial. Something I will need to work with, and learn to let go (or not participate in). I lost my cleaning sponge at least 3 times. Meaning I was distracted. Not mindful, and not present.
It’s quite challenging to maintain mindfulness over extended time. Try it. See how long today you can stay present. This is the practice: Awakening from “there – lost in mindspace” to “here – the glory of actually what is in front of you”. Each time you “wake up”, you’ll be making progress. This is how you begin to identify with the knower, the deeper aspect of your being. And in time, you too will get a cosmic giggle at just how much you were missing in life worrying about the past and future, and things that don’t really matter ❤
