“Life has been life-ing” as they say.  Hustle and bustle with quiet moments in between. I’ve been so intent on being in the moment. Intentionally aware and consciously present of the slightest shift in the atmosphere. Mentally chronicling every high and low, every ebb and flow. Taking it all in, in the spirit of gratitude and the awareness of just how fragile our existence really is. Determined to be on that next plain, the new wave of consciousness…..affirming my future. 

(Feel free to insert your personal, self-affirming mantra. Your go to when the day just isn’t going your way. You know the ones. “Not today Satan,” “You is good, you is kind.” etc, etc.

For me it’s always “just stay focused.”

But like staring too long at a single object, hyper focus will inevitably cause your eyes to blur. Probably because our eyes are not designed to maintain focus but for an allotted amount of time. When the peripheral is lost, we are subjected to blind spots.

We become blind to our own shortcomings because we maintain focus on our strengths. Never nurturing, educating, or building where there is a deficit is like going to the gym and only doing bicep curls with your right arm because it’s already stronger than your left.  Or only washing and brushing the left side of your hair because it grows thicker, fuller and faster than the right side. While this sounds ridiculous, it’s exactly what we are doing when we choose to only lean in or feed the areas of ourselves where we already excel. There becomes a great imbalance in our objectivity and ability to see things clearly. It’s all a blur.

So when I declare my intent to be in the moment, I’m actually not allowing myself to drift out of said moment. And my focus becomes singularly narrow….which means I’m not even enjoying the moment because now it’s a job!

I say widen the lens. Allow the background to be just as important as the foreground. The focal point will always stand out, but the story can’t truly be depicted without seeing the entire picture.

Let the contradiction of who you are tell your story. Peaks don’t exist without valleys. Loss is a tougher blow after gain. Heat is never appreciated unless you have experienced the cold.