Living in the moment

“Christopher Robin, what day is it?”
“Pooh, it’s today.”
“Oh good. That’s my favorite day.”

I had the opportunity to go with my wife and daughters last night to see the movie Christoper Robin. It’s an excellent movie, and that quote (as best as I can remember it) happens at the end of the movie. Without spoiling it, it’s an excellent movie that I knew would punch me in the gut and make me cry. It sure did.

So what does the movie have to do with minimalism? I’m glad you asked. Minimalism isn’t about stuff....completely. It’s about an attitude, a relationship with things, people, and your surroundings that frees you up to focus on what is most important. And when we’re at the heart of it all, what is most important is today. It’s what we’ve got.

This thought has been rolling around a lot in my head, but over this past week, it’s been so much more apparent. You see, my mom has been a widow since March of 2017. So I’ve been trying once a month to go visit her (she lives 3 hours away) and check in on her, do some projects for her, and give her some company. I went Sunday afternoon through Monday afternoon. This trip had a fairly main objective. Go through my dad’s model HO gauge train stuff and figure out what I wanted. You see, growing up in Wisconsin, we had basements. And in the basement was an 8 foot by 8 foot train table that my dad built. I spent so much time with him putting cars and houses together, laying out track and tacking it down. And then, when my parents moved to Texas 17 years ago, no more basement. Not much space at all for the full train layout. So it sat. And sat. Funny thing is, my dad kept collecting. So in my excavating of things, I found buildings I put together by myself, buildings I helped my dad piece together. Even 2 buildings still in the box, not put together. Train track galore, even....more track that was still in the packaging! You may be wondering how model trains have to do with living in the moment. I am excited about getting my own train layout set up and running. It reminded me about those happy, simpler times of being a child, spending time with your dad, doing something fun. And it made me really think about what living in the moment looks like.

For each individual, living in the moment looks completely different. Even at different points in life, it’s different. When I was in college and just out of college, I wanted stuff. I got credit cards....I paid for that stuff on those credit cards. I didn’t care about the cost. Now, stuff just doesn’t excite me. Don’t get me wrong, I’m thankful for what I have, and I’m quite blessed. But I know that I have far more stuff than what I need.

Without giving too much of the movie away, Christopher Robin has grown up. He’s lost that sense of imagination and wonder. In his book “Love Does”, Bob Goff talks about it as “whimsy”. It’s the doing stuff just because. Christopher Robin is so focused on his work that even though he says certain things are important, he doesn’t show it in his actions and choices. And looking in the mirror, that’s the biggest gut punch for me. I know that I’m capable of doing that, and I know that I have. We all have.

So what does living in the moment look like for me? I’m figuring that out. I’m going to be trying to figure it out. I know it involves being sillier, laughing more and enjoying things as they come. Does that mean that I slack off on my responsibilities and duties or not do the best job that I can? Absolutely not! But, I know that it does mean that my attitude and my approach to those duties and responsibilities has to change. For you, living in the moment may be looking at similar things. Maybe it is different things. But I strongly encourage you to take a good long look in the mirror and remind yourself that today.....it is your favorite day.