Looking Forward to A Moment

I remember when I was a kid, there would be certain things that were the highlights of my week. I'd count down the days, hours to them and try so hard to savor those things I'd look forward to. The short list of those things included: sleepovers with friends, school dances, birthday parties, trips, Christmas, Halloween and date nights once I hit 14 and up.

I remember about a year ago when things were starting to sort of open up and thinking about those things. What was there to look forward to? And I realized I wasn't really looking forward to anything anymore. What kept me going forward? Certainly last year is a terrible example to begin with. Yard of Terror, the charity haunted yard I do each year was probably the only thing that was awesome about 2020.

This summer I can think of two: Gettysburg trip next weekend and the my first bellydance recital since before COVID at the end of July (more info to come- it's public and outside!)

But what if it wasn't like that? Just trips and major events? What if we set aside one thing to look forward to daily?

Something simple, a moment, something at the end of the day to think about and bring us out of constant stress, worrying, tasks and work. After all, looking forward to something is only a thought- no other effort required.

What can we look forward to? Here's a short list to try.

-Sitting

-Seeing family and pets

-Dinner

-Warm blankets/sleep

-Something about your nightly routine that you like and normally look forward to.

-Declaring yourself "unplugged" for the night

Notice these are all (potentially) healthy choices. I didn't mention dessert or a cold beer.

So now, the next step is to be conscious, mindful and frequent about these thoughts.

1. Pick that thing to look forward to tomorrow morning.

2. Try to think about it at least a half a dozen times during the day.

3. When it happens, take one more moment to consciously enjoy it. What does it feel like? Answer that question to yourself in a mindful way.

4. Repeat tomorrow.

What is something for you to look forward to? Then try this, every day!