Learning to Live in the Moment

Many people who know me, know that I have a bit of an issue with living in (and enjoying) the moment.  I tend to dream about the future and what I want to accomplish, rather than focusing on the present and what I currently have my hands tied up with.  Here I am, doing this wonderfully amazing thing in Rwanda, dedicating two years of my life to something bigger than myself, and all I seem to think about all day every day is what I will do once I return to the states.

I read a passage in my Daily Word that touched on living in the moment and being grateful for what you currently have and the things you have been blessed to be able to do NOW.  With the emotional rollercoaster ride that serving in another country is, I find myself rushing through each day so I can get on to the next day...month...and year...and then finally, on to the close of my service.  Here is where I need to sit back, relax, and take a breather.  Rwanda is a beautiful country.  I am doing a beautiful work.  I am surrounded by a beautiful people.  And I am being blessed in the most beautiful of ways.  Every week (or whenever I feel like I'm thinking too much about life in the states), those are the things that I remind myself of.  With the time difference and cost of making phone calls to mommy, I'm not always able to call when I need a mental boost or some kind words to push me through a tough day.  So I sit myself down, tell myself that I can do this, and list out in my head all of the ways in which I am lucky and blessed beyond measure to be living this dream that I am fortunate enough to wake up to every day. 

Below is what I read that inspired this post and reminded me to live for today. I'll worry about living in tomorrow when tomorrow comes (:

I express the full joy of living.

            We all strive for ideals.  We all have a notion of what we want to be.  But if we delay our happiness while we wait for some change or perceived improvement, we overlook much of life and its joys.  If we look longingly toward a time when life will be different, we miss the unique pleasures of the present.

            The greatest assurance of a joy-filled future is the cultivation of happiness now.  Every step of life's pathway is rich and joyous.  Every person, every task, every circumstance bears a blessing.  To find those blessings and be glad in them is to fulfill our divine birthright.

            I look to the goodness all about me, and express the full joy of living right now.

My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy. --James 1:2

Love and Peace Corps,

Dametreea