IRL Moments

November is an exciting month. This fall has been phenomenal and I feel like things are just getting better and better. Wait, no, I didn't mean to write that. Things have been good, and then the end of October took a bit of a dive, so I realized I needed to do some planning to better things and make November wonderful.

November is obviously a great time to reflect on blessings and think of all the great things in our lives. It's a time for service, for thinking of others and getting into that happy Christmas spirit of charity and love and forgiveness. So as I pondered how to make this month great, and how to stop being selfish and thinking about myself, I realized that I have a problem, one that maybe you can understand.

I live almost entirely in my head. I block out the present so often to think about the past or the future. I don't think everyone is as dysfunctional as I am; whenever I'm around the Lewis (Bate!) family I think "now here is a group of people who really know how to live, how to enjoy each moment and make the most of it." Maybe you disagree Liz, but I just feel like in general you guys are pretty good at being present and not getting stuck in your mind. That's how I want to be. And I feel that's one way of showing gratitude and appreciation for life-by loving it and experiencing it fully, whatever it is, not wishing for something else.

So as I pondered this, I remembered my IRL moment in Chicago. In Real Life. A truly life-defining moment when I stood in front of that little stage in that little club on Lincoln Avenue, watching Cloud Cult perform some of my all-time favorite music, and I felt alive. I felt present like I rarely do, experiencing my life to the fullest because it was so worth experiencing. And I wondered then why these moments are so rare, why so few things in my life warrant my full attention.


The things that do stick out to me, that bring me into my reality every time, include snowboarding, surfing, the first little while in Albania, when everything was so new and incredible and I tried to take it all in (mos Lizi, e di qe isha e frikesuar dhe e cmendur, dhe nuk isha vete veten, ne fillim, por edhe isha e zguar gjithemone...hmm. ose jo? ndoshte nuk punon kjo shembull), every Cloud Cult concert I've been to and especially shaking Craig's hand (oh my gosh!!! that still makes me a little giddy), watching sunsets and snow-tipped mountains, looking at the night sky, all things that bring me into myself  and the present.

One reason people like "dangerous" or intense activities, like sky diving, or snowboarding, or rock climbing, or what have you, are because these things force you to be aware, to be in your body and sensing the world around you, or you could die. Every near-out-of-control activity forces you to rely on instinct; mind wandering just doesn't work. Traveling I think is the same way; it gets you out of your bubble and your mindset and forces you to look at things differently, to observe people and places and customs, whether out of curiosity or survival, it doesn't matter. Your eyes are open. Connections with others, connections with earth, recquire an act or awareness in the present. Such wonderful moments. But so rare!

The thing is, every moment warrants my full attention. Every moment could be just as beautiful. I just need to learn how, learn how to see, live, breathe each moment, instead of escaping to some place I've created in my mind, to some projection of the future or some remembrance of the past. So this month is dedicated to IRL moments, to being present to experience not only my life, but also to be aware of others around me, and hopefully be more able to help them, to connect with them, to serve them.

So join me if you dare! Participate fully in life this month. And I'd love to hear about your own moments, love to hear what brings you to a sense of awareness and being you don't normally experience. New babies? New hobbies? New loves? Lets be grounded to life by the sheer awesomeness of each minute, each opportunity to live and love and share.

Happy November!