I just had a glorious walk with Rigby, our Norfolk terrier.  It’s one of those fabulously perfect December evenings in Manhattan. Crisp, clear and cold.  The parade of Park Avenue Christmas trees is twinkling with white lights. Parents and their kids are rushing to escape the chill and get into their cozy apartments. Couples, young and old, are excited to be together. 

Rigby and I "living in the moment"

I had a big smile on my face the whole time. If ever I was “living in the moment,” it was during tonight’s walk. I wasn’t     thinking about all the work I have to do, about my sick aunt, or about where I’m going tomorrow. I was thinking about enjoying the walk  itself, watching the activity swirling around me, just feeling good about life and the world, warts and all.

My FOF friends often mention how they enjoy “living in the moment” more than ever. Sherry from Eau Claire, WI, who battled breast cancer last year, says, “I used the experience of cancer to transform my life. I have walked away from people and relationships that are toxic and do not cherish my being. I want to live more fully.  Life has always been finite, but now I know it is really only today. I strived to be a mother, to have a career, to get to the age I am now.  What did I think, Nirvana was coming?”

“Don’t forget the past, but recognize when you need to let go and move on, live in the moment, live life with passion, integrity and joy, sometimes harder said than done,” says Diane from Carmel, CA., who just celebrated a big birthday.  “Seek the pure potentiality that life has and embrace it. As you live longer, this becomes paramount.”

Everything can change in an instant. FOF women aren’t sitting around fussing over what happened yesterday or what could happen tomorrow.  We relish the moment, just like I did with Rigby during our walk and just as I’m doing as I write this.

I wonder if Norfolk terriers live in the moment.

P.S. My husband said Rigby “takes a good picture.”