Living each day to its fullest is hard. I think a better way of looking at this is one put forward by John Sexton in an interview with Bill Moyers, the idea to make each day as transcendent as possible.
You have to make sure that you live every day as a transcendent day to the fullest of your ability, because you never know when you're going to have a chance to live it again.
This is kinda related to 'being in the moment' of everyday life. When i walk the Labs in the park or the woods, I sometimes have to stop my brain from thinking too much and just realize how neat it is to be on a walk with the pups.
This somehow works better as operating instructions for daily life. Living life to is fullest can be exhausting, always running around to all sorts of stuff for the sake of doing it.
But even today, I ran out of time before I ran out of stuff I need to do. I looked at the clock and it was 4:30 already, and I barely got done what I wanted to.
Is that OK? It has to be or you'll be cranky all the time.
What do you do? How to live in the moment? Share with us below:
johan de klein
I guess we are all so busy with doing our stuff that we forget to enjoy the little things and the things we already have. I enjoy your website and the video`s, they inspire us to live or life's better.
@rhkennerly
Like you, I work hard at being in the moment with the dogs on our morning walk. I attend to the sounds of nature, thrill in the dogs doing dog things. No podcasts, no mental lists, no conversations intrude, just a walking meditation with silent friends.
When I start to brood--I'm a brooder at heart--I pull my attention back to one thing, step...step...step. Oh, and I hum. Always have.
Holly & the Ivy most often, particularly as the sun is just topping the misty trees in the grassy meadow of the graveyard. But also As Time Goes By. Both as low and rhythmic as a mantra.
Sleepy Maggie
When I think of the word "transcend" I always think of something that reaches across and above, kind of the way the sky or a rainbow does over what may appear, on my little human level, to be a really crappy situation. Or like Samwise, dragging himself through the desolation of Mordor, looking up and noticing a star peeking through the clouds, and reminding Frodo that there is beauty up there that no evil can touch.
To me, to transcend daily life is to succeed at remembering to remember what really matters, and what really gives me joy. I have a little plaque that says "There is always, always, always something to be thankful for!" Sometimes when I sink into negativity because something is not going the way I think it should, if I'm lucky and remember to, I think of that and look around for things to be thankful for - - not just for the color of the sky, but for the fact that I have color-vision; not just for my daily bread, but for taste-buds; for the feel of the wind and a healthy body to feel it with. That sort of thing. But the best days of all - the transcendent ones - are the ones when I remember to do that even when everything is going well!
Gertrude "Trudy" Lamb
Weather won't always cooperate, and not everyone owns a dog. Here is what 66 years of living have finally taught me: Do the simple things first, and never mind the harder stuff until the easy ones are off your plate. Touch reality. Start where you stand. Cherish yourself, cherish your home. Cherish is not a chore. When you get out of bed, spread it. When you dirty a dish, wash it by hand. Sweep the bit of floor that got dirty, just because it needs your help, not because it's on a chore list. You are not doing chores, you are cherishing your home life. Any one of these acts of caring takes maybe 5 minutes--but more time than that has passed between you now and your problems before now.
Touch what is real.
The real world is always with us and we are on the same team.
The shoulda-coulda-gotta isn't--so stop bowing so hard at it. You look silly.
Bottom line--just do it, and only respect what is worth respecting.
Stop giving free room and board to anything that crowds you out of your own life. Tell it to get out and don't come back. No more free room and board.
When all this finally got through my thick head, life got a lot more satisfying.
And good things just cropped up in my path, seems like.
Do one physical thing that is good, and it opens a door for more.
Or so I found it, through trial and error.
Ohliveia
Transcending our old limits is not easy, it triggers the ego which works to keep us in limitation, so it triggers thoughts of not doing what your heart or spirit is directing you to do. If you focus on your heart and not your head, your can surpass the old limits. When transcending it is confusing for the ego, but exhilierating for the spirit. It is ultimately a choice of what you will listen to and focus on. It is so worth it to live in the endless possibilites instead of self imposed limitation.
Vivian Gassan
I have enjoyed every video of yours that I've seen. I especially like seeing the dogs. Enjoying my dogs is one of the ways I get into the moment.
I have learned much on your cooking videos and am very grateful to you.
I also like the gardening videos.
You and friends do a great job!
jo brennan
I am 60 years old and just finished training to be a Yoga teacher..a whole new world has opened up for me....one of my teachers spoke of thinking about the in between moments of our lives, slowing down and being conscious of the time spent between activities. This has helped me to slow down and smell the roses, as they say. Walking in the woods and seeing God's handiwork,, breathing deeply as I wait in line, taking time to talk to people in the stores....our best moments are just waiting --in between our activities!
Abigail
Well, as a human being I also have more things to do than I can actually can achieve and maybe I had to learn .....yes....to let go of that. Not when someone has a deadline (e.g. journalist, thesis or paper due) that you can relax. :-)) But life has its ebbs and flows and so do we. If we do not listen to that, we Westerners burn ourselves out and forget to see the beauty of a hummingburd, or how your pup or cat or child does something that imelts your heart, is original or that makes you crack up. To be in the moment is to enjoy and BE GRATEFUL that you can see, hear, or otherwise experience that moment. To see a flower in the middle of a city, still going strong being awesomely made and so beautiful also on the inside of the petals. The Artist of artists is very original indeed with an eerie beauty. When I get drained, if possible: stop. Try to catch yourself doing just that. Take a cup of tea. If impossible: breathe six or five times in(hale) and exhale with open mouth. (Not wide open, no). After a few times, a minute or so, you feel relaxed and centered. That sounds space cadetlike which I am not. If it works, it works. Look, watch, see. Be grateful for what you have, and for this beautifully made planet.
Abigail
You know what I always loved. is your two wonderful dogs everytime you started a video. Great how they are part of your family. Should be. Animals are in the moment I guess (??) when they play and have good clean fun with a tiny ball or eachother, running and enjoying that. We humans are much more and too self-centered. Humility is scarce these days. I guess another way to enjoy the moment is to think about nature, the planet maybe what one can do however seemingly small to help this planet, animals, improve our intake of food (organic) and that of our pets who get to eat stuff their bodies are not made to eat hence the allergies and worse. Thinking and then doing. Over time one changes, including the pace and the savoring of moments. And still not getting everything done. God willing, there is always a tomorrow. You'll live. If not it was not meant to be. Oh and sorry for the typos (hummingburd was the one that made me blush...)..
Eric Gunnar Rochow
wow. very cool how everyone has shared here. thank you for all of this. eric.
Tonia Moxley
I think transcendence and living to the fullest is not filling your time with things to do, or working to make money to buy and try the newest gear, or fun thing.
It's what you just said, focusing on what is in front of you right now. You can't do that every moment of every day, because a satisfying and productive life requires you to take some time to reflect and to plan. Sometimes you've got to change careers, or work out a schedule to get the housework done.
But part of every day should be set aside for looking at what's there, for taking pleasure in a warm shower before work, for looking at the fall leaves while you walk with the dogs, enjoying a fun task at work, doing the breakfast dishes without rushing through them to get to the next thing.
And that can be miraculous.
Mary Ellen Higinbotham
Hi, Eric: When I think of having a transcendent day, I may be trying to outdo
yesterday--which will eventually lead to failure. By living "in the moment"
I live fearlessly, not in the past guiltily nor in the future perhaps worrisomely.
By living in the moment I am free to appreciate everything around me, even
if the experience is threatening--I'm still here (- :
Take good care! Mary Ellen
Eric Gunnar Rochow
well there you go then, thanks for that, eric.