My stumbling - be where your feet are

During my most recent vacation, it was my intention to be the most present I have ever been. The explicit goal: Be where my feet are.

Throughout my adult life I have become aware of my innate ability to be a world-class time traveler.

Jumping back to relive the past or zooming into the future on a non-stop trip… never stopping in the here & now. Over the past two years I have been working on being mindful of living in the present.

Traveling like Marty McFly: (yes, I can make references pre-2000)

Eckhart Tolle describes this habit as “the compulsion to live almost exclusively through memory and anticipation.”  To be stuck in the past or the future is the ego (the mind) while the present moment is the spirit. It’s where all the magic happens. The present is where our precious life with our precious loved ones unfold. 

These moments we get to have are not  infinite. If we’re fortunate, we get about 4,000 weeks on this earth with friends & loved ones. If we’re lucky, we get 18 summers with our children.

There’s a time and place to reflect on the past but not to travel there frequently and dwell in it. The past is there to learn from, not to sink in. The past can be a school of growth to make better decisions today.

Same with the future. As leaders, we must get ahead of the organization but not live in the future failing to care for the present.

As leaders, we’re called to dream boldly and prepare for future opportunities. But we’re not called to live in that future place incessantly, distractedly caring for the present, for what’s in front of us right now. 

The only way to truly serve our family, our team, and our community is to be where our feet are.