Is This as Good as It Gets?

I can tell you with certainty: YES!

Savoring the moment with Cosmo on my lap and Payton beside me (if you look closely you will see her!)

With abundant confidence, I will guess you are currently waiting for something. Maybe you are waiting for your retirement … for a bigger house … for your next big getaway. Or maybe you are waiting to meet your life partner … to get married … to get pregnant … to make more money … to feel more joy. This pattern of expecting something to happen so that our lives feel more full is relatable, common and almost inescapable.

I was recently caught in that loop — circling around and around with thoughts of moving. Would I be happier in the city again? Should I get a different house in the burbs? Should I move in full time with my boyfriend? Then will I be truly “happy?”

Then that loop merged with another thought spiral about work. Should I focus on getting more writing jobs or should I hone in on my new coaching business? How will I generate more income? How wonderful will it be when my mortgage payment is due and I know I’ve got it easily covered?

There is No Future

As I was spending weeks that turned into months trying to figure out my living arrangements and my career goals, my 14-year-old dog was due for his annual vet visit. We went last week, and all was looking good overall. The vet did discover a mild heart murmur, however, and she suggested we explore further with a cardiologist.

On my drive home from that appointment, I passed many of the homes I had been considering. I later got my regular inundation of emails with condo listings in the city. I also received emails about promoting my coaching program online.

With my laptop closed and my phone in another room, I didn’t look at anything other than my dog Cosmo. I sat on the couch with him and talked to him about the years we have had together. I re-told him the story about the day we adopted him, 11.5 years ago. I reiterated what I told him that first day we met: You will only know love here.

As tears filled my eyes with the remote thought of him not being here one day, I manifested the idea we would still have many more years together. I also decided that no moments would be wasted.

With that, I hopped up and took Cosmo and his little sister Payton on a walk around the neighborhood. I left my AirPods at home so I could be as present as possible. I wanted to hear the sounds of my dogs’ paws on the sidewalk. I wanted to feel the sun on my skin as I wished for nothing. I simply wanted to be in this moment.

That’s when it hit me: There is nothing I am waiting for right now. I have Cosmo and Payton and their wagging tails and their soft, excited panting sounds. I have the trees and the sun and the air and my lungs to breathe it all in easily.

There is no future I need to worry about because there is only now — just this simple moment in which we are strolling down the street. This is it! This IS as good as it gets.

Let Go of the Wanting

I immediately saw and felt more warmth and sunlight. I was free of the wanting. I was free of the waiting. I was free of the wondering what my next move would be and should be. Instead, I was walking down the street full of overwhelming gratitude.

I stopped thinking about how many more months or years I might have with Cosmo and with Payton and instead thought about this walk. These uncomplicated moments are actually the ones full of meaning. They are the ones we overlook as we wait for the big moments to hit us over the head.

But, the big moments are the small ones. The big moments are the quiet ones. The big moments are right now. Right here. Right in front of us.

A Serendipitous Thought

Not surprisingly, as I was about to share these thoughts with you, I came across something today, which Kurt Vonnegut said he learned from his uncle:

“He said that when things were really going well we should be sure to NOTICE it. He was talking about simple occasions, not great victories: maybe drinking lemonade on a hot afternoon in the shade, or smelling the aroma of a nearby bakery; or fishing, and not caring if we catch anything or not, or hearing somebody all alone playing a piano really well in the house next door. Uncle Alex urged me to say this out loud during such epiphanies: “If this isn’t nice, what is?”

This is so aligned with my thinking. Drinking lemonade on a hot day … a pleasant aroma from a bakery … overhearing music. This is what it is all about. This is nice. This is everything.

There is nothing to want other than the ability to appreciate this very moment. Today, I share these words with you. Today, Payton and Cosmo sit beside me.

Today, I am here. Today is everything and anything and all there is. Today is absolutely as good as it gets.

Payton and Cosmo enjoying a simple moment that is everything.