If you are habitually living for the weekend, you will find that next weekend soon turns into next month. Next month soon gives way to a different season; and before you know it, the holidays roll around again, which gives way to a whole new year. And so it goes. You wind up at middle age and find yourself in a mid-life crisis. Suddenly, you are a grandparent. Clearly, you were present during all of the years leading up to this one, or were you?
How many times did you tell your child, “Not now – I am busy”? How many times did you tell yourself, “Someday…”? Why do we forget? Why are we unable to recall only relatively few of the moments we have lived? Most of the time it is because we were too busy mulling over some past incident or we were trying to figure out a way to control a future event. Time becomes blurred because our attention so often gets dragged backwards or pulled forward, instead of remaining in the here and now.
Is it possible that dementia and Alzheimer’s is only the result of not paying attention to what is currently happening right in front of our eyes? There have been times when I could not remember whether or not I took a vitamin supplement. Did I already brush my teeth? How did this item end up in the pantry, instead of the refrigerator? Fortunately, these mishaps, or loss of memory, have only occurred a handful of times; but I realize that it was because I was not paying attention. When I remain focused on what I am doing, without letting my mind run amok, it is easy for me to recall things with clarity.
We can continue to believe that we will fall prey to memory loss as we age, especially if other members of our family were diagnosed with the disease; or we can take responsibility as the switchboard operator of our own brain and remind ourselves that we alone are in charge of our mind. We can stop anticipating the weekend, let go of nostalgia, and give thanks for today.
