I live this moment.

Some days, I tell myself I long for a simpler life.

Did I ever have that?

A life without bigger worries than how to pass the next exam, fixing the flat tires on my bicycle, or when to fit in the next long distance run. A life where I patched together the monthly budget by doing three part-time jobs, two of which allowed me to play loud music and work up a sweat (I have always craved exercise).

I did have that.

But it didn’t feel simple. In part because it wasn’t: passing an exam and hustling to patch together income is not trivial. But it also felt transitory, like a stepping stone towards somewhere else.

This morning, as I sat in silence, I realized that this is what a large part of my life has felt like: always some steps, maybe even years, ahead. Always focusing on what this moment, this task, this thought, would lead to.

There is a better way. A simpler way. I randomly opened a book after meditation and fell upon this quote, attributed to Nadine Stair, an 85-year-old from Louisville, KY:

Oh, I’ve had my moments, and if I had to do it over again, I’d have more of them. In fact, I’d try to have nothing else. Just moments, one after another, instead of living so many years ahead of each day.

Because moments are all we have. One moment after another.

This doesn’t mean we can’t work towards something, or long for better for us as a community, or rise up against injustices, or stand with each other as we celebrate and grieve. The eternal river of life. May we be in it and of it every day.

Next up: Wednesday June 29 virtual flow 16H30 UTC (12:30pm in Washington DC, which is where I will be next week). Come be in the moment with me.