Thought for the day

i have been thinking a lot lately about my first time around at UNCG...in particular, my theatre training.  It was a great time for me.  i learned a great deal about the craft of acting and, to be honest, i was pretty good at it.  i do not regret my time there or the fact that in the end i chose not to pursue theatre as a career, even when i do miss it.  Having said that, one of the things we were taught in acting class is to stay in the moment.  Be there fully and take everything in.  Your surroundings, your reactions, the other people that you are working with on stage, etc.  And the more i think about this technique, the more i realize i need to apply it to my every day life.  Theatre is life after all :)

Yesterday, i went to campus to take care of some registration business for next semester.  While i was walking through campus, i started to think about this acting lesson.  Taking it all in.  i took my time and looked at all of my surroundings...the buildings, the landscaping, the few other people on the campus.  And it was nice to just allow myself to be in that particular moment and enjoy it.  It definitely put an extra spring in my step.  i felt good.  and i like feeling good!  And then i realized that, the older that i get, the more i am unconsciously being in the moment.  The other day at work, a coworker spilled an entire tray of apricot bars that were cooling off on the freezer floor.  All of us at work just howled because, simply, it was really funny.  And i loved that moment of us just laughing and having fun.  And that moment stayed with us for awhile and we had a great time with it.  Now, when Squirt barks at whatever is passing by our house, i try not to get too mad at him even though it can be frustrating.  i stop and think Squirt won't always be here to bark and i won't always be here to hear him bark, so i just let him bark and enjoy the fact that we're sharing some time together.  When i go over to sit on Lois's porch in the afternoons, i realize that it will not always be like this...our hourly visits with friends...so just live in this particular time, this brief scene of life and relish it.  And i do.

To be in the moment is to be aware.  Not every moment of life is good, but not every moment is bad either.  And drinking it all in creates wonderful memories and makes each moment that much more special.  A good way to live, i think.

Cheers