Tuesday Truth: Life's Obstacles

A few weeks ago, one of my fellow teachers read the following quote at the end of class:

For a long time it seemed to me that real life was about to begin, but there was always some obstacle in the way. Something had to be taken care of first, some unfinished business; time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last, it dawned on me that these obstacles are my life, and I am living it. 
-Bette Howland

This week, I'm revisiting this quote, as it's very applicable to my life right now (as I move from one big focus to another, and gear up for a busy fall). I hope that it feels applicable to your life, too, as I think we can all use a little reminder like this sometimes--a reminder that we're already living life, that this is it. Life is not something out there in the future, it's here (!), so we need to enjoy the present moment because we have no idea what the future holds.

Although sometimes, I know, it can be really hard to comprehend that "this is the moment we've been saving for" (to quote another one of my favorite passages). For instance, when our fire detector ran out of batteries and beeped all night on Sunday, that was me living my life? That was the moment I've been saving for? When my iPhone crashed for no reason last night and I had to spend an hour restoring everything--that was my life? When I'm rushing around to handle a workplace emergency, or an urgent to-do, these issues are my life? This quote is a reminder that yes, that is my life--these obstacles and issues ARE our lives, and until we recognize this, we'll spend all of our time waiting for the moments in between these issues, frustrations, and obstacles, instead of seeing every moment as it is.

Interesting thought, isn't it? It's like all of the stories of people working their lives away, saving every penny so that they can enjoy "retirement," and then when they get there, they're miserable, bored, depressed, and lost. 
Don't wait for life to begin to start to enjoy it, live it now.

Easier said than done, right? 

I'm going to go live my life now (aka, handle some obstacles ;)

Namaste,
Mary Catherine