10,000 Hits Celebration: Day Two

You can clutch the past so tightly to your chest that it leaves your arms too full to embrace the present.

~Jan Glidewell

My son, Clay is big into living in the future. You know the type. The world is his carrot. A tantalizing tidbit tied precariously to a string on the end of a stick. Dangling out in front of him constantly. The problem is that if he's always looking at the carrot, he's easily tripped up by the proverbial cracks in the ground or worse yet, he never sees what is to the left or to the right of him. And we all know, usually it's something good. Like a new friend, or a hug from a grandparent, or an interesting teacher.

I, on the other hand, tend to focus on the past. Like an old worn out photo album of all the best things in life. Or trinkets and treasures stored in mystery boxes up on dusty shelves. I shuffle them around, clean them off, rearrange the memories in my head - sigh and smile and remember the good and not so good. Warding off the future and all the scary changes it holds but burying my nose in a scrapbook. Problem is, by living in the past, I can't see the memories that are being created right in front of my newly bifocaled eyes.

Life is quite a pickle we put ourselves in if we don't take the time and the energy to live and breathe in the present.

On our second day of reflecting on the good stuff in our 10,000 minutes I would like to propose an idea. While it's easy to say that we'll be mindful and focus on what is in front of our cute little noses for a day or two - let's face it, we'll all fall into our old routines soon enough.

I hope you'll consider the following idea with an open and present heart and create a physical space in your home to create an "altar of presence" with us. My friend, Kelly Barton is so very mindful of this and creates spaces within her home to focus on issues within herself, family, friends and even strangers. Please visit her blog, the camp to read more about her most recent altar.

To create an altar of presence, you might gather some of the following: twinkle lights, special photos, candles, poems, art, incense, talisman (shells, old jewelry, newspaper clippings, leaves, etc.), letters, stuffed animals

Find a space in your house like a bookshelf, a cozy little end table, or a corner of your desk

Take a quiet moment and arrange your "altar of presence" and remind yourself that this is a safe place to visit often, to take a deep breath and feel the moment and be thankful for what is

We hope you enjoy this exercise in being present and would love to hear from you if you are able to take the time to do this. And as an added material bonus for letting us know your thoughts, I am adding an original painting to our "fishbowl" drawing that you can see at my etsy shop here.

Peace and presence be with you today.

---