more pause

What’s for dinner? When is the next vacation day? When will we find out our test scores? What am I doing for the weekend? What is the next item on the to-do list?

What’s next?

Have you ever found yourself focused so much on “what’s next”, that you forget about the “what’s now”?

The other day, I found myself with some downtime. With that downtime, I decided to go sit in a park to listen to some music. I thought that it would be a good pause from the many things I knew I needed to complete by the end of the day, week, month, etc. However, instead of a  pause for my brain, I ended up thinking more about all those responsibilities. I started making a to-do list in my head, and began stressing myself out even more than before I had sat down to “pause” at the park. I started to overwhelm myself with where to even begin with the things I needed to get done. Just as I was doing my usual overthinking, a stranger who was walking by suddenly stopped.

The stranger turned to me, and with a concerned expression said, ”Are you okay sweetie?” I snapped out of my mental to-do list making, and responded with the casual, ”Yeah, I’m good! Thank you so much for asking!”

I began to think about why he had asked me if I was okay. I imagine this stranger was just strolling happily through the park when he saw a girl staring blankly into the distance with a concerned and overwhelmed look on her face. Mystery solved on why he was worried about my wellbeing: I have no ability to stop what’s on my mind from showing in my facial expressions.

How often do we find ourselves thinking about the future when our past selves dreamed and planned for the moment we are living in the present?

I found myself in the park thinking about the future, and forgot to pause and cherish the present. Thankfully, the stranger walking past had some insight that I did not.

 He paused his life to remind me to pause mine.

Life is busy, goals are motivating, and planning is practical. However, we shouldn’t be constantly living in a mode of “what’s next”. It’s unfair to our past selves that desired for the present moment to arrive.  It’s great to have desires and motivations………..but it’s also great to pause.

I’m glad I had a gentle reminder to pause in the park the other day. Sure, I can’t really pause time, but taking a quick pause in my brain gave me peace and clarity that a “what’s next” thought process can’t provide.

I challenge you to pause your life, even if it’s just for a minute. Pause to appreciate the people around you. Pause to celebrate all of the things you’ve accomplished. Pause to soak in the moment. There’s more time to pause in our lives. We just have to intentionally seek it out. We aren’t promised the “what’s next”, so let’s pause for the “what’s now”.

 There’s more to pause.

There’s more to it all.