Somebody forwarded me an allegedly funny meme on the Book of Face today, and when I looked at it I realized it came from someone from the same blogosphere I was part of... in 2004.

It was one of those slightly surreal moments in which you realize this person who was pregnant last time we had any contact now has teenagers.

Time flies, and all that rot...

Be Here Now!

Ram Dass wrote the book in 1971... and people are still out there debating whether we only worry about the Present Moment; the NOW — which is essentially the "short" game — or should we plan for the future and work towards that — the "long" game — while using the past as our guide.

Being Present is definitely important... but I keep coming back to why this has to be an "either-or" situation?

When I played a lot of golf, you'd better have both your long game and your short game in order! Not that life is like playing golf, but I thought I'd toss it in there, anyway...

What sort of got me into this frame of mind is the way we humans increasingly seem to "flit around" from one thing to another, always looking for "the" answer to things: To getting rich, to getting happy, to finding love, to finding inner peace and beyond.

I think I have typically sucked at the "short game" because there's a sort of frenetic energy there I just can't get into. A bit like that hyperactive kid in grade school that was always "bouncing around" in class and out of class.

I have never been that much of an "adventurer," I guess... even in my "wild teens," I wasn't particularly "wild," although some of the things I did were perhaps unusual in the sense that they were so NOT what typical teens would choose to do.

"Wild and crazy" people made no sense to me; neither when I watched them be wild and crazy, nor when I was the one who got to go pick them up after they'd spent the night in a jail cell somewhere.

But back to long and short, and "flitting around."

I believe it's definitely in some people's nature. Even as I write these words, I see people creating posts that tell us how they bought into this "greatest EVER!" crypto project two days ago, and now they are bailing out to they can buy into a different "greatest EVER!" project.

One of the things I learned — and took to heart — during my years of going to lots of self-development workshops was the huge value of the two words "FOR YOU."

You add it to the end of someone's persistent insistence on their version of "truth" being what people ought to follow.

"This is the greatest dietary supplement, EVER!" In my head, I add the words "FOR YOU." You can do it with pretty much anything.

Maybe it sounds a bit flip and supercilious, but it actually directly addresses the underlying reality that we're all different.

"A Rottweiler is the greatest pet EVER!" For YOU, perhaps. I prefer cats. But that's not an implication that YOU should start keeping cats, nor an implication that I agree to have Rottweilers. And if your self-identity is too invested in your way to simply accept the differences between how people are wired... not sure what to do about that!

As for life, I tend to be longer term oriented. I find it mindnumbingly exhausting to have to wake up every day and make a new plan. But that doesn't mean it isn't a perfect approach for some people. Some people crave variety and adventure; me... I prefer stability and a degree of known routine. But I certainly wouldn't expect anyone to think MY way was better than theirs. My way just happens to be better... FOR ME. Your way is better... FOR YOU.

As long as we just Fully Present within whatever choice we're making, all is well...

Thanks for reading, and have a great rest of your week!

How about YOU? Regardless of whether you know how to "be present," do you play the long game or the short game? How has that worked out for you... in terms of delivering the life you want? Comments, feedback and other interaction is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!

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Created at 20210323 22:12 PDT
0221/1464