Living in the Present Moment

One morning while vacationing in May, my husband John and I decided to dine by the hotel pool. We took our breakfast biscuits and coffee and found a shady spot away from the main pool area. As we dined, sparrows gathered on the ground anxiously awaiting the dropping of a coveted morsel of bread. We watched the birds and noted their attentiveness to our every move. Some were skittish in their responses, others waited in patience. Unable to resist sharing some of my breakfast, I began dropping crumbs. More birds descended hoping to snatch a bite. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a lone sparrow, perched on the arm of the chair to my left. I placed a piece of bread in the palm of my left hand and slowly extended it toward the sparrow. After cocking her head to the left and then the right and back again, carefully assessing the situation, she mounted the air, hovering over my palm. Several times, she attempted to land. I sat still, watching. I spoke softly, inviting her to land. In a quick moment, I felt her tiny feet perch on my thumb as the peck of her beak snatched the bread from my palm. Before I could react, she flew off. I was thrilled. In a few moments, she was back, asking for more. I obliged. After the fourth time, I could see where she kept flying off to after grabbing each breadcrumb. It was a tall palm tree about 20 feet from where we sat. In a crevice at the top, where the palm branches emerged from the trunk, she had a nest of hungry fledglings. No doubt, they ate well that morning.

Reflecting on the gift of this experience, I am reminded of the importance of living in the present moment. That morning, as John and I dined, we were present to each other and to the world immediately surrounding us. Had we spent our time talking about what we did the day before or what we planned to do that day, this moment may have been lost to us. Living in the present opens us to the bounty of life’s daily gifts – gifts we miss because we spend too much time trying to live in the past or anticipate the future. Life is happening now and as it happens, it whispers for us to stop and pay attention to its bountiful gifts. When we do, we experience sparks of the fullness of life and we are better for it.