“I’ll be right back. A sunset is unfolding. I would like to experience it.”
Among the crowd enjoying the music, food, conversations and so much more, a small minority took time out to silently look out across the pool towards the setting sun. The warm colours made everything look nicer than it had just minutes before. As I let myself go, my attention blocked out the music, nearby conversations, and other distractions. For a moment, the only thing happening was found through the gentle breeze of the mountains as I reflected on the disappearing sun in the west.
As I turned back towards our table, my lesson reminders for today were all around me.
I will experience the opportunities I focus on. Most in the crowd missed the sunset. While the opportunity was available to everyone, the difference for me was in where i choose to place my attention. As I think of my day ahead, there are likely to be multiple opportunities. The sunset reminded me of the importance of knowing why and how I exercise my freedom in choosing which ones I will pay attention to.
Experiencing the moment is proportional to the attention I give it. Last night I took the time to let the mountain breeze and the movement of nature into my heart. I gave myself permission to slow down, be present, and let things unfold.
Each moment is a choice. The outcome is the result of my choice. I decide what I bring, be it a focus on self or a focus on others. Care and kindness as an alternative to prioritising what I can take from the moment. In the reflection of the present, I can understand what has previously unfolded so that my choice now is more informed. Moments where “sin was plenty alive, and I was stone dead” (Romans 7.11) are not the end of the story, rather they speak to the ways I learned to write the story that is now.
The sunset was soothing, energising, and hope-filling. It refilled my heart with courage and resilience.
