Be Present

Have you ever stopped to think about all the textures you encounter each day? I’m talking the emotional ups and downs as well as those occasional glimpses of contentment, peace, awe, and wonder.  Still not following me? Let me try it this way…

I am not a morning person. In my perfect world, Sunday morning services and pretty much any other morning activity would start sometime after 10. I’m a night owl and can stay up, engaged and lively but, oh. my. Lord. early mornings are just painful.

After a fabulous late night in Austin, taking in SXSW (at least as much as you can without badges or wristbands) and enjoying the sights, vibes, and occasional weirdness that is Austin, my friend and I called it a night and decided to set our alarms for dark-thirty (which is my way of saying way too early to be getting up, especially on a Saturday).  My subconscious was looking out for me because my alarm never went off (so hard to see am or pm on my phone without my groovy readers) but…her alarm went off as scheduled.

Our goal was to go to the KUTX/Four Seasons Hotel SXSW venue and take in the four bands slated for Saturday morning...8am. We didn’t have time to do much in the way of getting ready so we’ll just say I wasn’t looking my best. I was dressed. There had been make-up slapped on my face and I did my best with my hair. We arrived early enough to at least get seats and I mainlined coffee for the first 30-45 minutes.

The first band started at 8am. I can’t spell or pronounce their name. I think they are more of a late afternoon or evening sound because at 8am it sounded like a lullaby and I was doing my best not to nod off and drool.

After 3 songs, they said something about technical difficulties and exited the stage. Speculation was that the other band members had done like I had and set their alarms for PM. We assumed they were off snoozing somewhere. I’ll admit to a twinge of jealousy.

We had quite a wait before the next band took the stage (new band at the top of every hour…), but WOW. They were not just incredibly talented. They took performance and talent to a whole new level. Amazingly, this was a band of two…a drummer, who performs shirtless (that’s all I’m going to say on that) and a guitarist/vocalist. The duo is from Canada but they were previously in another band before moving to Austin and succumbing to the influence of our local talent.

The next group was really entertaining – talented, humorous…kind of big band meets pop with a hefty dose of humor thrown in. And the finale, while touted as the talk of SXSW, was a bit of a disappointment. Granted, anyone who can get on stage and perform to a crowd of 600-700 people deserves credit. They weren’t bad at all…just different in a way that didn’t resonate with me.

Are you picking up on the ups and downs? Overall? I am so glad I went, even at that hideous hour on a Saturday.  We did sneak out a bit early as I had an appointment this afternoon. And here’s where more emotional texture comes in…got home, caught up with the younger child, drank more coffee, showered, then went to my meeting.

This particular meeting was prompted by a terminal diagnoses…4-6 months with no viable treatment options. I get that most of you reading this will do that sigh thing and feel sorry for this unnamed family. That is completely understandable and appropriate. However, because of their openness and desire to face these next however many months, we were able to recognize that this family had entered into a truly holy time. Every single time they get together will be filled with meaning. No one will hesitate to express their love for one another. Memories will be shared and made and stored for comfort later, when memories come back to remind us of the great gift of God each of us are for those we love.

Each one of us will face our own death. That’s just a given. Knowing that that time is imminent enables us to transition into a whole new perspective, a whole new set of priorities. What an amazing gift such a time is for those who are willing to accept rather than deny.

So, again, a day full of a range of emotional texture. I survived an early morning wake-up. I experienced incredible (and not so incredible) music. I was invited into holy time with a family struggling to honor the gift of good-bye time. And, I got a nap.

I really think the key to fully experiencing each and every day is to be as present as you can be, with or without coffee. I don’t know that a day has gone by that God hasn’t gifted me with a surprise of some sort…though I confess I haven’t always been present to notice. If today’s experience in emotional texture has given me anything, it has been the reminder to choose to be present. I’m curious to see what tomorrow brings, even knowing I have to get up really, really early.