As I write this week’s experiment, I am on vacation, enjoying a week of spa treatments and just basically hanging around.  The gift of the week is the gift of time – to have time just to be rather than following a fixed schedule of things that need to be done.  I’m nearing the end of my vacation, and I find myself musing about the passage of time – how its inevitable and constant movement takes each of us from what we’re doing right now to what waits next in line.  How quickly the present moment becomes something that happened last week, or last month, or even last year!

Along the way on this vacation, I visited an area I lived in 27 years ago.  It’s a beautiful setting in the country and I found myself amazed that so many years have passed since I first moved to that area.  Then, I thought about all the many phases of my life that have unfolded in those 27 years, and something in me felt a deeper surrender to the inevitability of time’s movement – of the fact that we can’t possibly hold onto the present moment, no matter how much we love it or want it to continue.

All this got me to thinking once again about how important it is to be conscious of our relationship to the present moment, about how important it is to be able to engage the present moment fully for what it is, because it will so soon become the past and then the far past.

For this week’s experiment, I invite you again – as I have done so many times over these years – to be even more conscious of savoring the present moment when it’s one you enjoy, and surrendering to the perhaps-merciful inevitability of change when it’s a moment you’d rather not be having.  Good or bad, the moment will pass and the next moment will emerge and bring with it whatever experiences, new or familiar, it encompasses.

The practice in conscious living offered by this week’s experiment is to be aware of the attitude you bring to the present moment.  Do you bring an attitude of struggle, or do you embrace curiosity and openness, allowing the present moment to offer its gifts or challenges to you?  Remember, challenges can end up being gifts, as well, as they offer opportunities to strengthen your capacity to move through difficulties with greater ease.  Challenges are also teachers, offering insight, as well as strength.

As with all the experiments, engage this one lightly, with an attitude of curiosity and play.  There’s no right answer here – there’s just the next opportunity to notice how you move through the present moment and have the chance to perhaps make some new choices along the way.