Saturday night’s full moon. I took note of it before turning in, but by early Sunday morning, its size seemed to have quadrupled (granted, it’s all about location and proximity, I know, but still – it appeared to have ballooned magnificently). It hovered above the horizon, which here in Bend, Oregon, is lined with mountain peaks. So the Three Sisters had what appeared to be a giant white orb chandelier all but resting on one of their shoulders.

Gazing at this sight on my drive to the preferred trail for my morning run with Nelle, my pup, the moon was still visible before we began, but at some point between starting and finishing my – okay, I’ll admit it – my jog, the lunar queen had vanished. I had forgotten all about her while trying to keep my feet moving, focused intently and entirely on completing my run (new to my fitness repertoire), sticking to my objective of why I had pulled myself out of bed early, so much so that I missed watching her slowly dip down below the horizon.

As I made my way back home, I only then remembered what had greeted us when we arrived, and only then did I peer back over to the horizon to find not a trace of the spectacular sight. Too focused on the objective, I missed what might, likely would have been, further motivation to keep up the pace – to run with such a companion, to have Mother Nature’s calm accompanied by further celestial awesomeness. But I forgot.

When difficulty, overwhelm, or anything new we’re trying to assimilate into our lives arises, our attention can be absorbed entirely at the expense of everything else. Sometimes this happens unconsciously, other times, consciously, the latter being chosen when we think this will hasten our arrival at the desired outcome. But will it?

While we may arrive more swiftly, will the outcome reach its full potential if we danced with the opportunities and gifts presented in our everydays?

One of the differences between having expectations versus having intentions is that expectations suffocate creative inputs, new ideas, and the deepening of quality. Intentions invite spaciousness and flexibility without capsizing capability, as the clarity of our direction provides the ‘bumpers,’ so to speak. (Explore further the differences in this post and in my new book Savoring the Sojourn.)

Intentions provide the bandwidth to live well in the present because the person we are today is not going to be the person who arrives at the desired destination. If we were that person, we would have already accomplished what we have set for ourselves to do. Expectations cling to what our former self thinks we want, without yet having the perspective of how our self, the world, and our ideas can mature.

By focusing so fixedly on a particular direction, we miss the fleeting moments of beauty, such as the sighting of the moon illusion, that brief phase of the full moon’s orbit when it sits on the horizon and appears far larger than it did while it was sailing above our heads in the sky. Or the gorgeous field of tulips right at the tips of our toes even if the hot air balloon in the distance which symbolizes our eventual destination, is noticed, but not given all the attention.

The beneficial paradox of remaining focused, but not to the exclusion of living well in the present moment, is that the outcomes – what we ultimately will accomplish – improve. In episode #434 of The Simple Sophisticate podcast, we talked about remembering to live sideways while stepping toward our intentions overall. There are many reasons to consciously remember to live sideways as well as forward, and part of it is being distracted constructively.

Let’s step back to my run example and imagine I had remembered to gaze at the moon while doing my best not to stop and take walk breaks. A funny thing happens when we are distracted by constructive present-moment focal points: time seems to move more quickly, more paces are taken, more distance is covered, and, in the case of completing my run, it would have taken my focus off what was difficult to do and brought enjoyment to the act of running jogging.

The key is making sure the chosen distraction or everyday moment you are savoring – time with your kids, time with your partner, time with your four-legged companion, time pottering on that hobby/side project, time reading a favorite book, time taking any sort of detour – is not whittling away at the progress you’ve already made.

Now, some would argue that if we engage in any activity that is not directly related to our desired outcome, it is hindering our progress. But I would disagree. Those detours, if chosen with clear self-trust, often open our eyes to new information. That information may at first seem the furthest thing from our intention, but if it fuels you, if it reenergizes you, if it strengthens what you value – for example, loving relationships, good health, a cultivated mind and being – then all of that contributes indirectly, and sometimes later down the road, directly, to the final outcome of the objective you’ve set for yourself to accomplish.

One of the primary reasons the literal seasons are a focus, but not the focus, of my new book Savoring the Sojourn: Contentment through the Seasons as You Unearth Your Masterpiece, is to remind us to savor the present moment. In whatever season on the calendar we find ourselves, no matter where we are in creating or working toward accomplishing our masterpiece, the literal seasons of Mother Nature ground us, and remind us that Now is the only place we will ever be.

If we can remember, and trust, that our efforts, when we point ourselves in the best direction for the outcome we seek, will materialize, then we can relax into our days, our everydays, year-round. The journey then becomes a joy. Our perspective widens to gather more inspiration, yet not infinitely wide to make us dizzy, causing us to lose our balance. We have clarity, and with this clarity, we feel at ease to both work on achieving our objectives while also remembering to stop for an impromptu conversation with our neighbor whom we haven’t seen in a while, or sit down and read with our niece or nephew when they ask us to while we are watching them, or take the time out of our day to slow our daily walk down to let our pup enjoy all the sniffs it desires.

Focused, but not to the detriment of our quality of life. Everydays. Our everydays add up to the sum of how we choose to move through them. But that too is just it – the word ‘through’ isn’t accurate or helpful when we describe living in such a way. Instead, live each day fully. See what is there to be savored (soooo much is!), and permit yourself the time and give your full attention to doing so.

Have a wonderful start to the new week, and remember to let yourself soften your focus just enough so that you find that sweet spot of knowing you are making progress but also figuratively feeding yourself well in your day.

~I invited you to join the Live Zoom event for my new book, Savoring the Sojourn. It takes place this Thursday, October 1st, at 6:30pm (Pacific time), and all you have to do to reserve your spot is purchase a ticket for $5 (this is a donation to Roundabout Books, the host of the event), or purchase a signed copy from Roundabout Books (they will ship it to you).

~Photo: A a photo captured at the Oregon Tulip Farm, near Woodburn, Oregon.

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