Today I saw my grandmother for the first time in several years. Just a few weeks ago, her daughters moved her
from her home in Florida to a nursing home in Massachusetts near family.
My cousin and her husband brought Nana down to my Mom's for the family
get-together on Saturday. I was nervous
about seeing her knowing about her dementia.
After seeing my Nana today, I think differently about the common saying,
"Live in the Moment". While I
agree we need to appreciate where we are right now, I actually don't think I
want to only live in the moment. My Nana
cannot remember the questions she just asked 30 minutes ago. But at the same time, she can thoroughly
enjoy the very second of where she is - laugh at a joke, drink some wine, enjoy
a piece of cake. She will not remember
tomorrow this day she shared with her family.
So really living in the moment doesn't seem to be the answer or at least I
now have a different point of view about that common saying.
My present moment would not be the
same if I didn't have the cognitive ability to interweave previous events with
where I am right now. I wouldn't have
precious memories. I might not feel
refreshed from a day of peace and solitude because that time would not be
remembered.
All of the past moments make up who I am today and I can use that knowledge to move forward to
become more like the person I want to be tomorrow.
So good! And so true. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry - it is an insidious disease. every day we lose another piece of our loved one. I lost my mother to this. Thankfully I have happy memories of her. Interesting take on living in the moment - never thought of it like that before. Will remember your family in prayer xx
ReplyDeleteI think your take on this concept really knocked it out of the park! It's really more than just the now, it's the yesterday AND the now that come together all the time that we can choose to use to guide the tomorrow. Thanks for the thought-evoking post!
ReplyDelete