Each moment that we have is precious, made more significant by the fact that time is fleeting. We are all given the same twenty-four hours in every day, and it’s up to us to spend those hours wisely. The concept of “being present” in your life has gained popularity in the last few years, and rightly so, for it’s an idea we cannot afford to ignore. To me, being present means engaging in each moment as fully as I can, using all five senses, and turning the present moment into a memory that I can access at any time in vivid technicolour.
This year I’m determined to give my six year old and my three year old as many experience gifts as I can – tickets to a play, rides on trains, walks on the beach or an out-of-town trip instead of more toys and plastic items eventually destined for the landfill. I want them to look back in their minds and draw from a rich trove of experiences.
The older I get the more sharply I realize that I cannot recall ninety-eight percent of the birthday and Christmas gifts I received as a child, but I can clearly remember the gingerbread houses I made, the snowball fights I engaged in, and the hotels I slept in. The feelings I experienced around these holidays and events have turned into the memories I possess, and for as long as I’m alive I’ll be able to open these gifts, again and again, and enjoy them. In order to form these memories, it was imperative that I be fully present in the moment, as a child, and I’m working on building that awareness in my own children.
When we bake together, I ask them what they smell, how the cookie dough feels in their palms, and ask them to watch the pie as it cooks so they can tell me when it’s golden brown and ready to come out of the oven. In engaging their senses, I’m hoping to train them to be aware of each moment they are in, and hold onto those moments for the future. Only time will tell if I’ve been successful, but in becoming more aware of each moment I’m in, I know for sure that I am benefiting from the gift of turning moments into lasting memories.
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