Is it just me or is anyone else amazed by how God places people in our paths at just the right time?
My last post dealt with my travel journey to Hilton Head so it seems appropriate that this post deals with my journey back home to Pittsburgh. If you know me, you know that I’m a talker and I will talk to anyone at any time. During my travels back to Pittsburgh, I had a 2 1/2 hour layover in Reagan airport. I decided to take advantage of the time and eat at a sit down restaurant. Since I was flying solo, I decided to eat at the bar. After I ordered, a man sat down next to me and after ordering himself, asked where I was flying to. We struck up a conversation and started chatting about our trips. As I was sharing about my trip, I mentioned how my best friend is always amused by how much I enjoy the experiences or get a kick out of the little things. The man asked me how I kept the excitement as he had traveled so many times that everything was the familiar to him. I thought that I’d share with you the same thing that I shared with him.
For me, it’s an intentional practice. Sure, my adventurous personality loves new things but I always make it a point to fully enjoy the experience. When I go to restaurants during my travels, I always make sure to try something that I could only get in that region. For example, at brunch in Charleston, instead of getting pancakes as I normally do, I chose to get an omelette filled with cream cheese and topped with pepper jack cheese and crab meat. Believe me, it was as delicious as it sounds. When we took a walking tour in Charleston, I was fully present in the moment so as I listened to the tour guide, the city and its history became alive to me. As we walked through the shops, I admired the craftsmanship of the vendors and the architecture of the city. I chose to see the beauty and find the joy in the current moment that I was in.
Why do I share this story? I share it because I believe that we miss out on so much of the beauty and wonder of life because we are never fully present in the moment. We spend half of our life with heads down in our phones scrolling to see how other people live their lives. The other half we spend worrying about the future, work, family, friends, etc. What would our lives look like if we simply leaned in to the current moment that we’re in? What kind of impact would we make on the world if we lived fully engaged in the present? If I had stayed buried in my phone, I would have missed out on a wonderful conversation with the man sitting next to me at the restaurant. Since I was engaged in the present, I was able to pass along lessons that I’ve learned and give him some tips to destress and enjoy each moment of his journey.
My challenge to you is to be intentional about how you engage in life and to find ways to enjoy life. Find things that bring you joy and look for the wonder in every day life. Most of all, don’t spend so much time watching other people live their highlight reels on social media that you miss living a full life yourself.
Life is full of awe and grace and truth, mystery and wonder. I live in that atmosphere.
Dion DiMucci