A Lovely Reminder to Seize the Day...

"Love in the Afternoon (1992)" by Andrew Wyeth

Today I wanted to share a passage that I've been reading in my classes lately. During a week where I feel like I am rushing from one class, meeting, or event to the next (all the while mentally preparing for a move, a trip next week, and wondering if we are EVER going to get a chance to pack!?!), it's a great reminder for me to enjoy each moment, each day, each event, and to be fully present in my life.

As is to be expected, the passage is from the oh-so-wise and enlightened Pema Chodron:

"The Navajo teach their children that every morning when the sun comes up, it's a brand-new sun. It's born each morning, it lives for the duration of one day, and in the evening it passes on, never to return again. As soon as the children are old enough to understand, the adults take them out at dawn and they say, 'The sun has only one day. You must live this day in a good way, so that the sun won't have wasted precious time.' Acknowledging the preciousness of each day is a good way to live, a good way to reconnect with our basic joy."
-Pema Chodron, The Wisdom of No Escape and the Path of Loving Kindness

Are you living each day like you "have only one day?" I know that I'm not, and that often I get SO caught up in checking things off of my to-do list that I forget I am even living--or experiencing--life. Each day is such a precious gift, why do we have so much trouble holding on to that notion?

Take a moment or two to "live this day in a good way" today, so that you can enjoy this precious time we have :)

Namaste,
Mary Catherine

P.S. Isn't the painting at the top amazing? I simply LOVE Andrew Wyeth, and this painting is one of my favorites. To me, it perfectly represents the feeling of waking up in the morning on a gorgeous day with nothing to do...with the entire day in front of you and the chance to do whatever you want. Ahhhhh, complete relaxation.