Good is Good: Best Moment of the Day
Thursday, December 30, 2010
In all my spiritual wanderings, one of the principles that’s sunk in is that the past is gone and the future is yet to be. I can only be where I am in this moment: this breath, this step, this instant. To worry about anything else is to waste energy.
Another thing I’ve realized is that humans—men in particular—are creatures of habit. To live in the present, it helps to have a ritual and some regular practice. I asked guys, “What is your favorite moment of the day? What is that moment that always makes you smile?” I also asked their wives. Then I had to think about it myself.
Morning ritual
These days, I work in my home office more often than not. I drop my daughter and son off at school, make my way back to the house around 8:30, make a fresh cup of coffee, and lumber up two flights of stairs to my third-floor man cave. My wife Elena decorated my office in greens and browns, with comfort in mind. There’s a mahogany day bed in the south-facing window. Surrounded by my favorite books, framed articles, a watercolor painted by my grandmother Grace, and the new bike trainer Elena bought me for my birthday, I sit down at my computer to check on the state of my world and my work, and make mental notes on what I’m eventually going to have to deal with.
Seize the perfect moment
After going through my email, I pick up a big novel (preferably 500 pages or more) and grab a quilt. I lie down on the bed, placing my coffee cup and phone on the windowsill, prop my head up, pull the blanket around my shoulders, and begin to read. A page (or, on a very good day, maybe two) later, the book drops heavily on my chest, a finger stuck between the pages to mark my place. I doze off in a luxurious bliss.
That is one of my favorite moments of the day. What’s yours?
For more of Tom's works, as well as other pieces on related topics, go to The Good Men Project Magazine online, here.
Delivered Free Every
Follow us on Pinterest Google + Facebook Twitter See It Read It