ENJOY THE MOMENT!
By Lionel Ketchian

A bird is singing, the sky is blue, the temperature is perfect, and the trees are covered in green. Is there a lesson to be learned from that? Well, it's just life. Right now I happen to be enjoying the moment.

 

In order to enjoy the moment you actually have to appreciate it. To appreciate the moment you have to quiet down and silently go within yourself. Nature cannot be beautiful unless you appreciate it. Beauty in any form requires appreciation in order to be beautiful, and appreciation is a quality found within you.

 

To connect with this moment is a deep union. It requires you to witness this moment outside of time. Time has nothing to do with enjoying this moment. Einstein said, time is relative. A moment with your hand on a hot stove in the kitchen is a lot longer than a moment kissing your true love in the kitchen.

 

As I sit and write this article outdoors I am expressing the feeling of connecting to nature in this moment. This is not entertainment. With entertainment someone is doing something for you. To fully relax is to completely go into this moment. Nothing to do, nothing to think about. Just merge with the moment. It is interesting that when you lose yourself like this you actually find yourself. In this enjoyment you find yourself by abandoning yourself.

 

Enjoying the moment is absorbing. Enjoyment is accomplished by relaxing into the moment. You can't fast forward nature. You can't stop or freeze frame moments you enjoy. While in nature you're included, you became part of it all.

 

It is interesting when we reflect on Ralph Waldo Emerson's words, "This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it." Only when you reflect back on such times as you allow yourself this freedom do you realize that you are peaceful and happy, This happens because enjoying something means you don't need it. You already have it. You get it without grasping for it. If you can develop ways to enjoy every moment of your life, you would not only master your emotions, but also be the master of your fate.

 

The wind just blew over the page I was writing on. So I went with it for it was time for me to write this line on a new page, and not to curse the wind for doing what it did. It is when we can incorporate "whatever happens," to us into our enjoyment of the moment that we have control of things in our life. It really is not about what happens, but how we handle what happens that immediately affects what happens to us. Enjoyment may be a lost art.

 

Let's bring it back into our lives, and practice it regularly. Life is short! You can either enjoy or regret. Select enjoy, and you will experience great joy in this moment.

 

Many of us are too rushed to enjoy life, too confused to be simple, too rich to have enough, too worried to be healthy, too ungrateful to be happy, too afraid to love, and too controlling to be free. Do your part to "Unleash Joy" upon humanity. We greatly need it.

 

Our next meeting is, June 28, 2001, from 7:00-8:30 p.m. The topic is "The Spirit of Happiness!" it will be held in the Rotary Room, at the Fairfield Public Library, located at 1080 Old Post Road. There is no charge for the meeting.

 

To quote an old Chinese proverb: "Life itself cannot give you joy unless you really will it. Life just gives you time and space-it's up to you to fill it." When is the last time you stopped for a moment to enjoy the moment? Take a moment to be in the moment. The next moment is waiting for you to enjoy. Only when you enjoy this moment will you know why it is called the PRESENT. Enjoy your PRESENT, it contains JOY.

 

Lionel Ketchian is the founder of the Happiness Club, a Happiness Coach, and can be reached at PrintLRK@aol.com. The Web site is www.HappinessClub.com

© Copyright 2001, Fairfield Citizen~News
Reprinted with permission by the Fairfield Citizen~News
Click here: www.happinessclub.com