Live In the Moment

In November, I went to Italy for a stopover after 10 days in Ghana. I’d given myself three days and two nights to explore Rome by myself before heading back to Atlanta. On the agenda - pasta, gelato and more pasta.

Italy had been on my list for years and as soon as I arrived (literally as the plane was landing) I knew that my soul had been tugging me here for a reason.

The night before my flight, I decided that I just hadn’t had enough time (or pasta) in this place that I’d fallen in love with, despite all of the rainy days. I stayed up looking at all the different ways that I could extend my trip for as little as possible. As I did that, I saw a lower than normal roundtrip flight for Italy in April 2020. Did I want to wait and come back and maybe add on some other Italian cities a few months from now or would I stay four more days and soak up all of Rome that I could?

After hours of back and forth and realizing that getting on a plane in a few hours didn’t sit well with me, I decided to stay. I didn’t know what my life would look like in April and I had the time and money now.

Obviously, I’m very glad that I stayed. While I couldn’t have guessed that the world would be whirling around in a global pandemic come April, my gut told me to live in the moment and enjoy it.

As we’re now in week 7…(or is it 8?)…of this virus, I’m still reminded to live in the moment. I won’t go on and on and quote endless memes about using this time to create your next great project because I don’t think that’s necessary. Living in this moment can simply mean drinking a cup of tea and taking the time to be thankful for it while you listen to the birds chirp outside. (This is clearly what I’m doing.)

It’s much easier to be grateful while having adventures throughout the would. However, what I’ve learned is that simple pleasures are just as enjoyable. Now more than ever, it’s important to find gratitude in all situations. When you make that your focus, the fear and anxiety goes away (or at least diminishes).

This moment is a gift. Relish in it.