While scrolling in my social media app the other day, a cute quote passed on the screen. It had a simple drawing of Winnie the Pooh and his friend Piglet. The text read above it: “What day is it?” “It’s today,” squeaked Piglet. “My favorite day,” said Pooh. While I am not quite sure what made me stop to read a Winnie the Pooh quote, I do know it left me with an uplifted spirit.
All too often we seem to spend life planning ahead – looking forward to the upcoming weekend, scheduling next year’s summer vacation, counting down the days until our next big event…. The only problem is that it can sometimes make us lose track of the moment. And sometimes those special, unplanned moments are what make a day seem great. A spontaneous day trip can turn an unplanned day into a favorite day. And life seems to be more enjoyable and stress-free when we have favorite days… not just rushing from one planned day to the next. Living in the moment can at times be thought of as insignificant, but it can actually be de-stressing.
When it comes to this, I notice my biggest distraction is multi-tasking in a negative way. Instead of positive multi-tasking, I can sometimes take it to extremes and multi-task at home, forming bad habits and therefore losing my “living in the moment” lifestyle. So instead of eating dinner while editing articles and replying to my e-mails and catching up on last week’s television shows, I try to single-task. When I edit articles, I turn off all the music and any other distractions. When I watch television, I use that time to relax and unwind. As the Zen proverb says, “When walking, walk. When eating, eat.” While we can all single-task, we can also rush at that one task. Instead, I try taking my time – not becoming rushed and random with my responsibilities.
When it comes to determining between single-tasking or multi-tasking, balance is strategic. As a key in life, balance helps us stay focused and not become burned out. Learning to multi-task healthily is just as important as taking your time single-tasking. We need to have this balance in our life to find a way every day to live in the day. As Wataru Ohashi says, “We are human beings, not human doings.”
By single-tasking and living life more in the moment, I think every day could be a favorite day. By focusing on the present – and not worrying about the future – we can become more aware of what is going on around us and enjoy the moment.
Look forward to every day. Live in the moment and do something each day that makes you feel like it is your favorite day – not just time to pass until your next big event. Who would have thought that Pooh and Piglet were just living in the moment? It is great advice, really. Today is my favorite day because it is a new day.
Amanda Strunk Miller
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