I recently read an article regarding Victoria Evans, a female rower who set a new world record for the fastest solo crossing of the Atlantic by a woman. Victoria made the trip in 40 days and 19 hors. She talked about various challenges that she had along the way. For example, she managed to lock herself out of her cabin and thought she would have to scrub her attempt and be rescued. But she persevered, cutting through the door handle with a hack saw blade. It took her 3 ½ hours.
One thing that caught my attention was when she talked about almost losing track of the record because she would get caught up in the moment – watching wildlife – a shark swim by her boat or noticing a super pod of dolphins, a whale, or turtles. The beauty of the present was at times overwhelming. She said that in those moments, “You live entirely in the present.”
I had to stop and ponder how easy it is to get caught up in “the race,” whatever that is – getting the next promotion, buying the new house, running the kids to the next soccer practice, and so on? We often, I am included, in an effort to live life fully, do the exact opposite. We go on vacation with a list of 20 sites we have to see in 6 hours. We were there, ever so briefly, long enough to check it off our list, but not long enough to be fully present. How very much we miss.
I wonder how much richer our lives could be if we relaxed in more moments, fully absorbing the life opportunities that God gives us. I am going to try to be more present today. How about you?