In the Moment

I've said it before: a busy life equals a boring blog. I'm hunkered down here, teaching the kids, trying to keep my temper and to press on. It takes everything I've got, and lots more that I don't. It means that I can't even think about two hours from now.

I read a study recently that strongly suggests that humans are the happiest when they focus on the task in front of them--that, strangely, the more they allow their minds to wander (even if their thoughts are pleasant ones) the further their happiness quotient plummets.

It's part of the human condition to daydream, to take what I call mental 'screen saver' breaks. But it would seem that to be satisfied one should practice being present in his or her daily tasks. And so I suppose I'm trying to be 'here' this week and not on a beach with my sisters. Which is to say, not on auto-pilot. It's surprisingly hard for me which means I probably should have been practicing it ages ago.

So there you have it. I'm present in the moment, and that means I can't remember my kids' funnies ten minutes ago, or recall the deep thoughts I had as I was trying to fall asleep last night. But that's gonna have to be ok for now. Because the kids are calling me...