Suzie Says: The Value of Now: Living Life One Moment at a Time

I was leaving the netlab yesterday evening and suddenly I stopped.

Two trees towered over me. Their leaves were mauve, almost see-through purple, with hints of pink, red, and green. In the distance the Oklahoma hills were splashed with color. I looked up into the branches, almost getting lost in the color of the season.

And to think I almost missed it.

My head was bent down, my arms loaded with a laptop, books, my Bible, and a strawberry-banana smoothie. It was misty rain, cool. I had one goal: to get to my car without getting wet.

But those trees…

How many times do we miss the beauty around us while we strive toward goals or destinations?

The other day I had friends over. We had enjoyed her wonderful baked brisket and suffered through my grilled veggies and chicken (I still don’t know what went wrong). We had hiked. We had walked along a stream. We had shared stories. Most of all we had talked about our dreams, because her husband is also in grad school. Her husband graduates in December so all the options are open to them, and it’s almost overwhelming.

As we talked I shared one struggle that I have, and have always had.

“Sometimes I’m so busy planning for the future,” I said, “I forget the value of now.”

“What do you mean?” my friend asked.

“Look around us. Listen,” I said. “The fountain in my garden is flowing. It’s a beautiful sunny, cool fall day. I’m sitting with good friends and having good conversation.”

I paused. After a few seconds, I said, “I don’t want to miss this. I don’t want to be so caught up in my future plans or my destination that I miss this moment.”

There is value in the “now”.

Take a second. Listen. What do you hear? Look around you. What do you see? Okay, now, don’t look at what you need to do, but look at that child playing in the corner. Notice the curl in her hair. Notice her smile. Look at the flowers in your garden. Take a deep breath. Smell.

Don’t worry. You won’t be that “odd one” taking in every second, savoring every moment, but when you stop to value the now, it slows down life just long enough to savor some of the sweetest things in life.

It’s those things people talk about at the end of life. I don’t want to be one of those people. I don’t want to wait until then to realize the significance of the smallest yet greatest things.

What do you see? What can you hear? What just came alive to you as you appreciated the value of right now.