Advanced Life Skills

By Lesley Geller

When was the last time you saw a butterfly? Can you remember the colors on its’ wings? Can you remember what you were doing when you saw it?

If you are like most of us today, whether a stay at home mom or a busy executive, the end of the day is signified by a huge sigh of relief just as you hit the couch or even hit your pillow. We find ourselves racing from one task to another as we check off the things we’ve accomplished and gripe about the things still left to do.  Unfortunately, though, the quicker we move through the day, the quicker our life passes us by.

The truth is that each moment you have in your day, good or bad, will never occur exactly the same again…ever.  That’s right. Ever.  And although you actually know that, have you ever taken the time to really think about what that means?  That means that each day you are missing the very things that make up your life.

Recently a friend of mine was brought to tears by her own two year old and reached out for help.  I was thrilled to be the one to help her out, since she’d helped me out so many times before and the thought of watching her son who’d perfected the art of tantrums, seemed like a simple task. Surely I had survived those years with my own two children, and could zip through them now with ease.  I mean, I was older and wiser now…and also knew that no matter what happened, he could be returned at the end of the two hours.

As I carted her son in and out of the car for the third time, I began to remember how much work it was to go places with a child that couldn’t fasten their own seat belt.  Feeling a little warm, I looked at the clock and realized we still had one more hour and had already been to the bakery, Starbucks and the store.  Although he seemed unimpressed even with the cookies so far, I knew the park was just the place to go.

When we got there, I began to pat myself on the back about how efficient I had been so far.  No tantrums yet.  That was the goal, right?

So I threw out the blanket, sprawled out and offered a snack.  He was not interested. As a matter of fact, he didn’t want to go on the swings, the slide, or the jungle gym.  I began to sweat a little more.  What were we going to do for one more hour? Suddenly I had a flashback of being with my son when he was that age.

“Let’s go for a walk,” I said confidently.

His huge blue eyes lit up as he reached up for my hand and we began down the path.  It was a slow pace, since he had very little legs and we had lots of time on our hands, but it seemed just right.  As we walked, I could feel my body temperature coming down. I could feel my heart rate decreasing and my breathing becoming easier too.  I listened carefully to him as he called out each thing he saw that connected with a word he knew. All the while, we kept walking.  I felt amazingly calm.

After a few minutes, he stopped dead in his tracks.  I could feel my breathing stop too, worried that this was where he would demand something, hurling himself to the ground perhaps.  I watched nervously, as he pointed his tiny finger in the air and began chanting something.  Not understanding his words, I squatted beside him and looked carefully into the air.  His rhythmic word getting louder and louder as his desire to share it with me grew. I looked in the distance and smiled.

“It’s a butterfly,” I said. “You see a butterfly.”

And with that, we stood still watching it with all of its’ grace and beauty and I wondered how long it had been since I had seen one myself. It was in that moment that I wanted to call my girlfriend and thank her for giving me my “moment”. For letting me borrow her son, so that I could remember not to miss the moments occurring in my life either.  Although I didn’t call her, for fear of ruining her “moment” alone, I was relieved to remember how simple it was to notice the butterflies. That it wasn’t a matter of finding them, but simply a matter of taking the time to notice them!

Lesley Geller is a Business Coach. She helps successful professionals exceed their expectations of growth. She works with small business owners, as well as individuals in large corporations looking to reach the next level.  Lesley graduated from the University of Maryland and is certified as a Coach through the Coach Training Alliance, which is recognized by the International Coach Federation.  She is also a Freelance Writer and co-author of: 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life.   For more information about how to reach the potential you’re capable of, visit her website at http://www.LesleyGeller.com or
e-mail her at  [mailto:Lesley@LesleyGeller.com]Lesley@LesleyGeller.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lesley_Geller http://EzineArticles.com/?Living-in-the-Moment&id=217659