“It’s about being in the moment. It’s about being present and reacting to what’s presented to you”.

If you’ve ever been to any acting class. I mean ANY acting class, you’ve heard those words. That phrase is an acting coach’s “go to”. The same with directors. Heck, I’m sure I’ve used those words in shows I’ve directed and classes I’ve taught. And it’s kinda funny. And unreasonable. Where you are acting, on stage or on screen, what you are doing is repeating lines written by someone else, in the same order, performance after performance (or take after take, for you screen people). And it’s unreasonable to be totally “in the moment” when you are also thinking “what’s my next line”, or “why did my scene partner just upstage me”, or “that SOB in the audience just took a stupid PHONE CALL!” or a hundred other things… So you really aren’t totally in the moment. You’re splitting your attention between pure acting / reacting & those other aspects of what theatre ( with an “re”) types refer to as stagecraft…

… but I digress….

You get the idea. You’re trying to, as much as possible, be as real as possible, in an artificial situation. To exist in the “here & now”.

And that, my friends, is what I am finally getting around to talking about today.

The here & now.

In living our lives, we spend a lot of time worrying about yesterday & tomorrow. Maybe we’re reliving an argument with a loved one, or a co-worker. Regretting a choice that we made, or didn’t make.

( One quick aside. On a personal note, I think that regret is a complete waste of energy & emotion. We can learn from our past. But living there through regret is taking home leftovers of a lousy meal. Now back to our regularly scheduled blog…)

Or maybe we are worried about a test, or a social event, or whatever, coming up. There’s a great movie, “Bridge of Spies”, with Tom Hanks & Mark Rylance, where Rylance plays a Russian spy who is captured and Hanks is his attorney. Several times during the movie Hanks asks him “aren’t you worried?” and Rylance responds “would it help?”

Exactly.

Now, telling everyone to not have worry or regret is like telling actors to be in the moment. It’s just not possible for most anyone to simply shut those feelings off. But the message for today is …

Enjoy the here and the now.

Enjoy your spouse, your kids, your friends, your work, your play. Food, music, the gym, the massage table, the sunset, the park, the dog, cat, fish, parakeet, whatever…Be present for the here and now. Movies end. Meals get eaten. Songs conclude. Children grow up. Parents grow old.

Enjoy what you have while you have it.

Or, as Rare Earth put it. “I just want to celebrate, another day of living.”

Damn right.

Talk Later,

Bob