Carpe Kairos

A friend of mine walked in my door recently carrying this little sign. “Carpe Kairos” it read.

“Kairos?” I asked curiously. “I know Carpe Diem – Seize the day!”

“Kairos!” he replied. “The moment – seize the moment JoAnna!”

How often are we thinking about something other than the moment we are occupying? 70, 80% or even more of the time? I’d guess that’s true for most of us.

While we are here in this moment, perhaps we’re comparing, lamenting or remembering other moments. Or maybe we are creating or visioning or worrying about future moments. Most of the time, we are anywhere but here.

Let’s change that. I want to choose to put my attention on the here and the now. I want to experience the moment I am in – most especially when it’s positive!

Being present in the moment is a challenging thing to do when you have a curious mind, or you are a visionary or a strategic planner. I often find myself having to take my mind back from the future and lovingly sit it squarely in the now – much as you have to with a puppy during training time.

There is a time and place for daydreaming and scheming the future, there is a time and place for reverie and savoring the past, and then there’s the NOW – this moment. This very moment. How precious this moment is. Carpe Kairos. Be here now.