What I learnt from my little visitors

Karen Burge Author

There is a great quote that I love. "If you are depressed, you are living in the past. If you are anxious, in the future. If you are at peace...

The huge advantage of working for yourself is that you can take time off whenever you want! That's what I did. And I don't apologise.

You see, my daughter and her family live in Los Angeles, so when she comes to visit with my two grand-children I drop everything; and I mean everything.

After all when you decide to run your own show it's because you want freedom, choice and time to spend with those you love, right?

For two weeks while Frances spent some time in London, we had the children staying here. And what I realised was this; it was such fun to live in the present moment.

Apart from realising that we didn't have to go on big expensive outings, or give high octane experiences, I learnt once more that the greatest pleasure can be had from the simplest of things.

Maggie loved checking on the chickens and the excitement of bringing in the freshly laid eggs each morning. Ethan enjoyed the responsibility of letting them out and giving them water. We enjoyed exploring in the woods, letting our imagination run wild (Harry Potter had nothing on the adventures dreamt up by these two!). We picked fruit, visited a neighbour and stroked an emu, (yes, an emu!).

Sure, we took in a film, visited an outdoor museum and a Tudor House and learnt heaps, and we managed to fit in 4 different playgrounds. But there was just as much fun to be had making "fairy doors" to pin the garden and having me paint their faces. Oh and the squidgy foam soap I bought for bath-time.

If you asked them what they did the day before, they found it hard to remember the details. If you asked them what they'd like to do tomorrow, they couldn't say.

We all lived in the present.

There is a great quote that I love. "If you are depressed, you are living in the past. If you are anxious, in the future. If you are at peace, you are living in the moment."

This is to say that there is no point looking back and regretting what you did or didn't do. It is gone, so let it go.

None of us know what the future holds so why worry about it unnecessarily?

There is only the present, where we are right now. This is what I learnt from my little visitors. Live in the moment. LIVE in the moment. Make the most of every day. Look for the excitement, wonder at the simple, ordinary things around you. Appreciate what you have and find pleasure in what you can do NOW.

What a great lesson!

2018-06-17

Categories: Mood, Appreciation, Spontaneity, Learn, Family, Relax, Overwhelm