By Matthew Vanderford, Claimology
Today was one of those days that just needed to happen. It was one of those days filled with duties and responsibility. But instead of hopping out of bed early, I decided I needed 15 more minutes, which turned into 30.
After finally coaxing myself out of bed, I went outside, did a quick meditation and was able to feel the need to allow myself to be in the moment, to allow schedules to be fluid, flexible. In that moment, I decided to commit to being in the moment more for the day.
And then guess what happened? A dear friend called and said, “Hey you wanna get a quick bite?” I paused, thoughts passed by: What about the inspection, what about the office, what about being the responsible person and keeping it all together with time management? What about meeting your colleague to go over details for the day? What about, what about, what about….???????
“Sure, why not,” I reply. This is the moment to be fluid. I don’t get to see this person too often anymore and I truly value their friendship. So, this morning I allowed all the ‘what abouts’ to be just that—what about. What about IT is so important that I can’t make time for a friend, and more importantly me. There’s value in friendship and human connection. Value in listening to the moment of “Hey, you wanna get a quick bite?” Value in wanting to learn more from others and hear what they have to say.
So, breakfast came and then ended–it’s always a good ending when eating with good people, which turns into more reasons to be grateful for being in the moment. It was a time to deviate from the scripted path and allow myself to be teachable and imperfect. How great children have it because of their wonder, their curiosity of life. How great it was to see a dear friend and share stories and offer help to each other and really be there for each other. To learn. To be childlike and follow the butterflies again.
I needed to learn a few valuable lessons: Be in the moment. Allow life to guide me in the right steps. To learn lessons quickly. To keep moving forward and do the next right thing. And, most importantly, allow myself the grace and acceptance of what it really means to be me. Totally messy, totally a little nuts, totally imperfect and most importantly, perfectly human.
Being human in this world can be tough at times. Throw in a hurricane or two…or several for that matter and you can get a recipe for stress that WILL make a grown person cry and bring the strongest of people to their knees. So, what does being in the moment have to with anything let alone filing claims. Well, being in the moment, to be fully present allows us to respond to circumstances from a position of creativity and greater insight. Because being in the moment is about being IN the moment – fully immersed. Feeling all the feelings and seeing different perspectives. Allowing the natural creative energy of existence to carry us along the river of life guiding us to see new ways of thinking about situations, obstacles or concerns. Being in the moment, to be present, to hear someone’s story, to share a handshake, a hug, a tear, a smile. To share a struggle. To solve a problem. Even this column, for example, started one way, but the moment it started, that moment lent itself to another, which has led us here, right now. I’m grateful for that. Funny things those butterflies. And funnier still where they fly…..
