Living in the Moment

Even before I was diagnosed with Parkinson's, I think I was always one of those people who was worried about tomorrow. What is going to happen next?

Will things go according to plan? I needed everything to be in my control. Ha! The person that said we plan and God laughs was right. It seems that very little is in my control. God has a plan. Darned if I know what it is, but I know it is good. I heard a quote from writer and producer, Norman Lear recently. He said,

"We don't pay enough attention to the words over and next. When something is over, it's over and we are on to next. If there was a hammock between over and next, it would be living in the moment."

When you have a chronic illness, whether it be PD, or something else, it can be hard to live in the moment. Stories of what the future may hold can be scary and the unknown is downright frightening. I think the key here might be not worrying about the unknown. We don't know what the future will be. It just might be better than we ever imagined. How awful to spend our time imagining the worst when it may never come to be. One of my favorite singer/songwriters is Jason Mraz. In his song, Living in the Moment, he says,

"I will not waste my days

making up all kinds of ways

to worry about all of the things

that will not happen to me."

If you have never heard the whole song, it is definitely worth a listen. I'm going to try harder to not think about nextand try to take in all the nowthat I can. I know it won't be easy but challenges stretch us and make us grow. This moment, right now, is enough, and I am going to live in it the best I can.

Lyrics to Jason Mraz's Living in the Moment

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