It’s funny to me how many people write about being in the moment.
Writers are never truly in the moment because, when we have a moment, we’re thinking about writing that moment.
Take my Pause and Smell the Roses post. I was thoroughly enjoying that morning but then I came in and wrote about it. Ideas were floating around my head even as I sipped my coffee and watched the chipmunks.
Actually, I kind of felt like a chipmunk—savoring birdseed and suet while darting back and forth and running in circles. Because, really, that’s what I was doing—mentally running from the outdoors to the notebook in my head and back again.
It’s a crazy writer thing. It is.
Yet here I am, again, about to describe a lovely afternoon I experienced. Blue sky, butterflies, shapes in clouds, the whole nine yards. It was gorgeous and relaxing. Of course…I’m writing about it now.
I’m not exactly sure how this works, but, while I was appreciating sunshine and flowers, thoughts and words were buzzing in my brain.
Was I writing the entire time or did I actually get to pause and smell the roses?
My Sunday thoughts in 200 words or less.
Are you able to truly be in the moment? (Think about this for a minute…) And, if you are, do you write about it after?
Lemon Shark 
I totally agree that we writers struggle to live in the moment, although I do think we’re very good at immersing ourselves in the moment and blowing it up into something huge…be it joy, fear, whatever. I am also into photography and it’s very hard for me to see something stunning and not photograph it. At the same time, I don’t lug my SLR everywhere with me either.
Great post xx Rowena
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Ah, yes. It is a bit like photography. But even if you don’t have your camera, for better or worse, you always have your writer brain with you.
“immersing ourselves in the moment and blowing it up into something huge…” Yes, writers are very good at this. 😀
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I definitely think you are in the moment. You are savouring it, finding ways to express your experience and appreciating it in its fullness. That’s wonderful, in my opinion. It’s so much better than wishing you were at your desk writing something else!
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I don’t know. Am I savoring it? I do agree that it’s better than wishing to be somewhere else, writing about something else. That’s a great way to think of it. Thanks, Norah. 💕
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My pleasure. 🙂
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I try to be in the moment but it rarely happens. It’s something i’m trying to practice but life or my anxieties usually takes my brain off on a tangent.
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Yeah, the anxious tangent. That’s a tough one to get a handle on. Going against my post here but maybe you could free write about it. ?
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Great post, Sarah, I find that when I can truly be in the moment (usually somewhere in nature) I get a burst of creative energy.
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Yes! That creative burst. And mine often happens as the result of being in nature, too. It’s magical. 💕
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The point you made was very interesting. It reminded me a little of how as a parent, I can never seem to enjoy my children’s sports days or artistic performances because I’m always expected to video them for posterity. I’m there watching, but somehow not really.
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It reminds me a lot of that. I’ve written (complained) about that on here before and how I felt so much better when I ditched my phone for a weekend. It’s a tough one. You’re there but you have no photos/videos. Or you’re partially there and have something to look back on. Conundrum.
Are you actually “there” if you’re behind the camera?
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Your final question is a great point and one to which I’ve never really found a satisfactory answer. 🙂
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So difficult staying focussed on the moment and not letting thoughts wander. I wish I knew the secret 😉
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Wandering thoughts. (I like that for a title…) I don’t know the secret but I’m starting by trying not to write about it. Not working yet. 😉
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;-D
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Ooh this is always a tricky one – consciously being in the moment almost stops you from being in the moment, doesn’t it?! Really frustrating!
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Ha! “almost stops you from being in the moment…” So true. If we try too hard, we are focusing on trying, not on the moment. It is tricky for sure.
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This is interesting. It’s my feeling that children have always been better at being in the moment than adults – however with social media and the stresses that go with it, it now means children can never really switch off, having similar worries to us grownups. For me, being in the moment is when one is not assessing, analysing, reflecting, anticipating, planning.. the list goes on. It is almost like a meditative state. As a writer, I feel that we can only call upon our experiences of it and how it makes us feel at the time. The last time I felt in the moment I was burying my toes in some warm sand. I felt like my soul(?) had just connected with my body for a split second. It’s an elixir. Never lasts for long. Leaves me wanting more. Ah, well…till the next time…
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That’s beautiful and sad. Children are undoubtedly better at being in the moment but I think you’re right about social media stripping some of that away.
It really is an elixir and I can imagine you relaxing, toes in sand, enjoying your moment. 🙂 I hope your next time is soon…
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I’m guilty of doing that from time to time as well. Love the image of you being a chipmunk though, stuffing your cheeks with ideas.
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Stuffing my cheeks with ideas like a chipmunk. That’s awesome. (It’ll take a bit to get that image out of my head. And I may not want to.) 🙂
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I think you’re right about the difficulty of being in the moment. I tend to write after the moment passed. I try to recollect everything that happened. It’s not easy. But sometimes I think being in the moment means not trying to put things down on paper; that you just observe and let things be.
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Exactly. “just observe and let things be.” 🙂 That’s what I’m saying. It’s difficult enough to be in the moment but I think writers tend to, well, write instead of just observing.
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That’s a really interesting thought. Being in the moment means noticing and truly taking in everything that’s happening in that moment. Yet I do think about writing it, about how I would describe a certain smell or sound. But then, would I be able to describe it if I weren’t in the moment experiencing it?
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Yes! I’m often thinking about how I would describe something. Does that mean I’m not in the moment? I’m just not sure. Great thought: “would I be able to describe it if I weren’t in the moment experiencing it?” I need to sit and think on that one.
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Yes, I’ve been thinking about it ever since I read your post and wrote it as well.
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Ha! You wrote it. I just love that. 🙂
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I think you were definitely enjoying the moment, so much so that you wanted to save it on paper!
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That could be true. And that’s a good thing. But can I turn it off? Just enjoy and not write? I’m not sure.
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Ah, it is a writer-thing to experience the moment of clouds, flowers and bees with a hive of buzzing words ready to capture now for later. I know “now” is not my strong suit, but it’s always “now” in my imagination. Does that count? 🙂
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“Now” is tough. For lots of people.
Capturing it for later. I like that. 💖 And imagination ALWAYS counts.
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For me, being in the moment would mean being in a full mindfulness akin to a Zen meditative state….It would seem to me to go without saying that I don’t experience being in the moment very often. The actual experience doesn’t really lend itself to words, but the moments just before and after, as the mindful state and the word-frenzy thinking resist and counter one another, are worth the struggle to write about.
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Unfortunately, I’m not in the moment very often either. But I absolutely love how you’ve described this.
“The actual experience doesn’t really lend itself to words, but the moments just before and after, as the mindful state and the word-frenzy thinking resist and counter one another, are worth the struggle to write about.”
Yes. That. ❤️
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Definitely one of those passages I had the urge to add, “I hope that makes sense” so I’m glad to know it resonated with you. 🙂
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I can honestly say that in the moment I was tumbling toward the earth where blue and green kinda flipped back and forth with no real orientation of which way was up… I wasn’t thinking about writing. 🙂
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No, I imagine writing was not on your mind. Hey, perhaps I should go skydiving regularly to keep my mind focused. Did we just stumble into a new method of mindfulness? Wicked. Let’s market it!
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I practice mindfulness and I find it’s nigh-on impossible to be mindful AND write. Your brain wants to skip away on tangents, but you can’t do that ‘in the moment’. It’s so frustrating!
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I’m finding that frustrating, too. I’m not sure it’s actually possible to write and be in the moment. ???
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In the zone, maybe?
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That would be a no from me. I used to be much better at being in the moment. Now I have these voice things in my head and they never, NEVER shut the F up. Sigh.
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Yeah, those voice things in your head are characters and you are a writer. That’s pretty much it. We have “writer’s brain”. Not much to be done about it. 🙂 Keep writing!
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I think that you are in the moment after the moment has passed. The reflections and inflections that become the moment that was is probably more the moment than the actual moment ever was. But then that moment becomes the non-moment and the new moment that you are in which is that past moment becomes the moment that you are now in. I could go on but I won’t as I am in this moment and not planning on leaving it apart from having to go and make our bed — very slowly.
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This is one of my favorite comments ever. It’s truth wrapped in poetic fun. 💖 I love it.
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Even if only momentarily. 🙂
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😀 You have such a lovely way with words and humor. I love it, my witty friend.
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EXACTLY. I’m another one who thinks about how to write about the moment when I’m in it. But I think it helps me remember it better and gives me a greater appreciation for it.
Also, if you, Sarah, never thought about these things while you were “in the moment”, then we wouldn’t have these great posts or discussion threads! 🙂
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Ah. I can totally see you doing this. Especially with your focus on reviewing films. I would think you could not watch a film without writing in your head. But that might mean you do appreciate it more. ?
And, thank you. 💖 You’re too kind.
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I like the thought bubble!
And yeah, being in the moment is the most precious way to live…unfortunately, it is also the most difficult to do!
But, I keep trying!
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Thanks! Yes, it is difficult but also precious. So true. I’m trying, too. 🙂
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