Living life in the Here and Now

“Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans” --John Lennon

This quote by John Lennon has been on my mind a lot lately. I find it coincides with the theme of my last post about accepting what is and living the life I am presented right now rather than longing for an ideal life some time in the future.

For the past year or so, Michel and I have lived a life of changes, which required a lot of adjustments for us to find time together. Here are some examples:

Michel had three different jobs. Two consecutive internships/jobs while he was completing his Cegep program and during the summer. Each was constantly changing his work schedule--sometimes days, other times evenings and weekends, etc. His current position, although providing a more consistent schedule, requires time away for training and some overtime.

The students in Quebec went on strike, which completely changed the school schedule and the timing of Michel's summer internship.

In Spring, I attended a 6-hour per day intensive French-language program for 11 weeks.

We moved to a very different section of Montreal than where we had lived for over 4 years.

We went to California for a kind-of vacation but mostly so I could close out my storage locker (a very big job!) and my bank accounts there because I am a permanent resident of Canada now.

Throughout all these changes, we would tell each other--"As soon as you finish college, our life will feel more normal. As soon as we finish the tasks in California, we can begin to live again. As soon as this or that is over, we can live the life we want to live" The irony, of course, is that during all these changes, we were living. The changes were our life. The normalcy we were looking for was based on some ideal we had in our minds as well as on a comparison to what our life together looked like before these changes started happening. And while we were focusing on the past and the future or (to paraphrase John Lennon)while we were busy making other plans, our life was marching on, our life was happening.

To accept what life is now and to live life here and now takes awareness and effort. Often, I focus on what isn't happening or what I don't have. Having this focus tends to make me ungrateful and a complainer. Much better for me to look at what I do have in my life and appreciate those things. Much better for me to accept the "present" for the gift it is and find the joy in and the enjoyment of Here and Now. Much better for me to live the life experiences I am given instead of missing my life altogether because I am busy making other plans.

Take care in gratitude! --Vicky :o)