For most of my life I have been healthy and even when I wasn’t healthy I never had any injury or sickness that put me out for a prolonged period of time. I have had sickness and injuries that have put me out for perhaps a couple of months but nothing more. It is safe to say I have been pretty lucky, but as I reflect on this good fortune I don’t think I have really appreciated how lucky I have been.

The thing with injury and sickness is that it could all change in a heartbeat. One day I could be fine and the next day laying in a hospital bed. I could get an injury or sickness that no longer allows me to do the things I love. This is not meant to come across as negative but just the opposite, positive. Why is it so hard to appreciate the present and not take it for granted?

I always seem to be looking into the future or back at the past, but seldom am I in the present. Think about it, how often are you in the present? For example, if you are in a conversation with someone and you are waiting for them to finish just so you can make your point then you probably aren’t in the present. It is hard to be in the present and even harder to appreciate it when you are.

For me, I often can get into the present when I go for a run, particularly a trail run. When I am on the trails I listen to my breath and watch where I am stepping, if I start thinking about other things I could fall on a rock. These moments can be surreal and often a real sense of joy washes over me. I realize how lucky I am to be outside alone with nature.

Why is it so hard to live in the present? We all have obligations and stressors in our life that happen in the future. We can’t just forget these things exist. Even if we wanted to I imagine it would be hard to completely expunge them from your mind. To live in the present we need to appreciate the moment, look around and realize how lucky we are to even be here no matter what our problems might be. This is difficult, but something I am trying to do a better job of because I think I am horrible at it. If I can do a better job realizing how fleeting life and times with my family and people I care about are I might do a better job of being in the present.

There is the saying we have all heard, “what would you do if today was your last day?” I used to think this meant do something crazy that you always wanted to do, but I have come to realize that is not what the intent of that saying is. The intent of that saying is to make sure you are living today for today. Don’t live today for tomorrow because we can never be 100% sure tomorrow will come.