What if This Moment is All We Have?
I spent last weekend in beautiful St Pete, Florida on a retreat with my amazing business coach. It was gorgeous and impactful, for many reasons, but one of them was the reminder I received to be present.
All weekend I was receiving the reminder and message, “what if this moment is all we have? What if this is life, this moment right now?”
It’s like a barometer and an invitation all at once.
How much more joy would be available to me if I allowed myself to fully surrender to this moment?
How might I choose differently where to put my energy and what to center?
The thing is, this moment is all we have. It’s the only thing guaranteed right now. And our ability to be fully with it and in it is what makes humanity so extraordinary!
I never appreciated what it meant to be present, to be fully alive and aware in the moment, until my mother was dying.
Not when she got sick or when we knew she would likely die from cancer. Not until all treatment was stopped and she had accepted that her remaining timeline Earthside was short.
Up until then I had been so focused on how we could keep fighting and what we could do to keep her alive that I wasn't ever in the present moment. I was in denial.
Then one day she looked at me and said, “Victoria, all we have left is this. Our authenticity and being together.” I had never heard my mom use the word authenticity before. Clearly she was more attuned to what was happening than I was, and she was inviting me to join her. She was asking me to stop the bullshit and surrender. To just be with her and let her be with me, understanding that that is all there ever really is.
I look back and feel embarrassed that it took me so long to recognize what was right in front of me, that I needed her to guide me instead of the other way around. But the reality is that it took me having to know that there was a limit on our time together to be able to fully surrender and find true presence.
I often wonder if I ever would have learned this of not for the gift of that timeline, and for the gifts my mother offered as she was dying. The ultimate act of love and care, she used her precious time investing in me.
As she was dying, she invited me to learn how to really live.
Today when I need the reminder to focus on the moment, and I do all the time! I focus on sensations and senses. What I feel, hear, smell, etc.
I ask myself what is more important than this moment? And maybe the thing that I need to do is what is most important, if the rent doesn’t get paid then we’re in trouble! But oftentimes it’s not. I can make a note to pay the rent in an hour, when we’re done eating or playing. Often times the human in front of me, or my own human needs, are more important, more cherished, than anything on my to do list.
Asking myself this question, taking a deep breath, noticing what’s right in front of me… this all helps me find more presence in the moment. It allows me to access more joy, more authenticity, and deep pleasure and delight.
Friend,
What if this moment is all we have?
What if this is life, this moment right now?
What would you do differently today if you knew this were true?
Go do it.
With love,
Victoria
PS- I am now taking new clients in my one on one containers where we can work together on cultivating more presence, pleasure, ease, and healing. We don't actually have to wait until we're faced with death to decide to live. You're worth the investment today. Schedule a call to learn more and see if we're a good fit!