During high school, one of my teachers taught me several valuable life lessons that I find myself reminded of daily. This teacher was one of a kind. He was incredibly kind, honest, and passionate. I was truly blessed to have been one of his students. The lesson that I find myself thinking about the most is, "being in the moment." It's not uncommon to hear someone tell you to be in the moment. Regardless, this is an incredibly important life lesson that ought not be undervalued. What does being in the moment mean? I guess I'd have to say that it means whatever you want it to mean. I define it as being aware of your surroundings, not just what is around you that is tangible, but the things around you that will influence how you grow from a given moment. Those can include your thoughts or your perceptions of the world. Being in the moment is being conscious of both what the present and not present. How often can we say that we are completely in the moment?

When in class, it is so easy to daydream or stop listening to the professor and to classmates. It is all too easy to be captured by one's own thoughts. When with friends, how often do we find ourselves engulfed by our phones? We do not necessarily take the time to talk with friends, we merely exist in the same room for hours. When walking down the street, how often do we take the time to pay attention to the world around us? Do we notice the smile on the face of the stranger we pass or do we simply regard this person as just that, a person walking down the street?

In life, we often find ourselves too consumed with our own interests and desires to take time to notice the small things. Sometimes we don't even notice the big things. It can be hard to look up from the ground, but why spend time looking down when you can look up and see the sun? Why look down when you can look out at a crowd of people and see them as individuals who all have different lives, different interests, different ambitions? Why look at the ground when you can see rainbows stretching between clouds or birds gliding over the sky? There is so much to see when you take the time to be in the moment.

Take the time to create connections with people. Life is not just about living; life is about being alive. Notice everything that your brain can possibly process. Dream big dreams and fuel your passions by the words you hear or the things you see. Open your eyes and make a difference in life. Do what you believe is right. If you are in the moment, you will be able to take advantage of experiencing every detail of what you experience. Don't just forget a moment and continue on with your life, think about each moment as it passes and how you can improve yourself from it, how you can learn from it.

Be in the moment, and life becomes much richer. Be in the moment, and you experience what you never expected. It isn't always the big things, the things that stand out, that are defining moments in our lives. Sometimes, it is the subtleties that we pass off as being simply innocuous or coincidental that truly cause the greatest changes within us. Be in the moment. Don't let life pass you by. Take in what you see and feel and hear. Those can lead you to new opportunities otherwise impossible. Life becomes deeper with love and joy when you take the time to be present.

I challenge you to live in the moment. You never know what you will learn about yourself or the world around you in the process. Be in the moment.