• “I can’t wait for springtime.”
• “I can’t wait for this winter to be over.”
• “I can’t wait to get home.”

Have you ever said anything like that? 

I’ve noticed that we’re always wishing we were somewhere else. I can’t wait for the next season. I can’t wait to get home from this trip. I can’t wait to take this trip. I can’t wait until work is over. I can’t wait to see her.

I can’t wait… I can’t wait… I can’t wait.

To me, this is clear data that we are living outside of the present moment. We are engaged in futuristic desires or longings of the past.

Seasons do take time to change. This winter was longer than any of recent past. It was colder, darker and we received much more snow that we’ve had in a long time.

But guess what?

Spring will come. It’s absolutely inevitable. There is no way winter could continue indefinitely. It’s scientifically impossible, being that our globe will rotate us closer to the huge ball of the sun.

Instead of wishing the winter away, I chose to actually revel in its beauty.

Across my street my neighbors have these enormous pine trees. Big billowy things with arms that droop way down at their sides. Picture these trees now all coated with a fresh layer of crisp, white snow. Gorgeous.

The trees, bare without any leaves, branched lined with white lines. The rolling hills covered in a gentle white blanket of snow. It’s really pretty when you take the time to just sit, just look and love it.

The one ice storm we had. Simply amazing. Yes, it knocked our power out for over a day. And it left the trees glimmering with a sparkle I haven’t seen in years. The sunlight shined through the ice that coated each tree branch and made me smile. I felt I was in the presence of fairy wings.

Switching gears a bit to a trip.

I went to India in the late fall of 2012. We were there for just under two weeks. I loved every minute of it. I’m unsure if my colleagues did the same.

Even though I got hit with a massive case of Delhi Belly; I still enjoyed every moment in India. I heard others saying, “I can’t wait to get home. I’ll never come back here again. This was enough India for me.”

Now mind you, India is an extreme. And have you ever been on the road, on a trip that you wished would end? Longing for your own home, your own bed, your own stuff? It’s normal to experience a bit of home-sickness. Yet are you rushing a trip that you anxiously anticipated?

Can we ever just enjoy ourselves?

Here’s a bit of homework for you this week. Observe yourself in every situation you find yourself in. Are you revelling in the beauty of the moment? Or are you rushing your time away? Do you long to move on or can you find ways to be content, right here- right now?

Even as we provide our nursing care. Can you be fully present with the patient in front of you? Listen graciously to the family member on the phone? Keep eye contact with your co-worker as they share report?

Instead of whirling through your day, rushing it to be over and longing for home; try just this week to be in each moment at hand.

I’d love to hear from you! Thoughts? Reactions? Comments? Please take a moment to be fully present and leave a sentence or two below. Thank you for reading and enjoy your health today.