By
Bob Cox
The
best year of my childhood occurred every year I that can remember
from Thanksgiving weekend until Christmas Day. From Thanksgiving Day
until December 25th,
I was completely swept up in holiday cheer. Everything about
Christmas excited me. No show or cartoon on TV about Christmas was
too sappy or contrived to miss. Every Christmas song I heard, every
Douglas Fir I inhaled and every snow scene I saw that was painted on
the windows of local businesses made my heart race with anticipation.
During that incredibly long four week period, I was locked in and
“present minded”!
Would
today be the day my parents headed for the mall, throw financial
caution to the cool ocean winds of South Torrance and bestow upon me
another bounty of gifts that I truly did not deserve? When no one was
looking, which was often, I would sneak around the house like a young
Sherlock Holmes, snooping for hidden treasures under beds, in closets
and anywhere else my curiosity took me. My excitement would reach a
crescendo once the gifts were wrapped and nestled under the tree as
my imagination of what was concealed went wild.
Then,
after each season was over, I found myself dreading the inevitable
letdown. Within a few hours after all the presents were unwrapped, I
would feel an empty sadness after riding so high on that magical
holiday wave. Once I became a teenager, the thrill of Christmas waned
over time until it became just another holiday. I truly missed the
fun and excitement of such anticipation, but had no idea how to get
that back.
As
an adult, I have discovered the joy of planning vacations with my
wife Diana, even when we don’t end up going! Shortly after I begin
planning our trip, I start to feel that same excitement I did when I
was a kid during Christmas. Once we leave, within a few minutes I
feel a great relief at the thought of leaving all my responsibilities
behind. From there, I try hard to stay in the moment, even when
things don’t go according to plan.
As
I look back on these memories, I now realize that I wasn't exactly
experiencing the present moment. I was actually thinking and planning
ahead for a future event. One could make a strong argument that
during those experiences, I wasn't practicing the awesome power of
being present minded by living in the here and now. On the other
hand, those encounters helped me experience real joy in the present
moment and isn't that what we all ultimately want more of in our
lives?
I
believe that the key to life is to have as much joy as we can while
we are here and share this joy with the people we love. Does it
really matter if we find great joy reminiscing about the past, being
completely present with our surrounding environment or planning our
next great adventure? It brings me joy to think not!
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