The Time is Now

Looking out from my current spot I see a gorgeous, almost finished sunset. Life is quite peaceful here.

There has been lots of introspection (I think that's the right word) lately -- that and dirty hands. No matter what I seem to do, I can see dirt somewhere on my hands. Anyways, back to my topic sentence...

Since I'm a worrier (thanks so much parents, I enjoy that trait you've passed on even more than my height) and a thinker, my mind rarely rests. And mindless garden tasks (as much as I've been enjoying them, P & K --) aren't good to keep the mind active. I find myself thinking about the past and the future, as opposed to the present. The current. My lovely eventful never to be had again time in New Zealand. So recently I've been making a conscious effort to stay in the present -- hell I'm in charge of my mind, not the other way around.

I've done a coupla things in the past coupla days to keep myself present-ified:

- yoga while facing the mountain. definitely better than yoga in a warm sweaty classroom.
- looking at the mountain (in general) - usually the clouds are doing something cool around it (if they're not obstructing it's view)
- swimming in a local river. Keep in mind its almost winter here, and it's not like NZ is Thailand or anything. that water was so cold that my breath caught in my throat for the first minute or two, but then it became crisply refreshing (quite crisp, in fact). but swimming in a river, turning over to skull on my back and seeing the late afternoon filter through the canopy of the trees along the riverbank --- that's what this trip is about. having those experiences.