Living In The Moment

Years ago I attended a talk by a major Torah scholar, and it turned into a discussion. The question he posed is what we would most like to "get" out of spirituality. I answered the same thing I seek today: the ability to live in the moment. That skill is evasive. I inherited my father's anxieties, and my head is always on -- spinning like the Apple beachball icon. I'm almost always planning my next move, and worrying. No ambulance can pass without awful thoughts creeping in about the Ds in the back of it. No news report about a crazed gunman can air without my personalizing it. Last night I met my friend and financial advisor Oui at Christy's. She's in charge of some of Wifey and my investments, and we always meet to go over things. Wifey rarely attends -- although she has TRIED to become interested in investments and money, the lure of other things always wins out. Oui was born in Thailand and is a Buddhist. And she's a REAL one -- not the typical liberal Jew or Christian who dabbles in it because the religion seems more humanistic than the religion of their birth. Oui just returned from a family trip to see her aging mother, and we chatted about Thailand, and how it's becoming a true gateway to Southeast Asia, and maybe that means some good investment opportunities. And then we talked about life. Oui is about my age and single. She owns a townhouse in the Gables. She used to be married to a college friend, who is now a major partnet at a huge Miami law firm. He's a fellow from the Midwest who was ALWAYS working, and striving. Oui was more reflective. We laughed about how maybe she shouldn't share her big picture philosopy with all of her clients -- they just want to hear big results and gains. I told her about a story I had heard years ago -- my old professor friend Ross had a brother in law who was a Miami Dade paramedic, who became a Buddhist. He was always spouting about reincarnation, and our place in the cosmos. His colleagues told him to can it -- the family of the 60 year old guy dying of a heart attack just wanted to be kept alive. By coincidence, two of Wifey's friends happened by Christy's -- Cara and Ronnie. Ronnie was a schoolteacher who married RICH -- she now travels the world and lives large on her late husband's wealth. Cara still works -- nearing 70. We said our hellos, and Ronnie shared with us all she knows about Thailand, and then they left. Oui told me that even for a Buddhist, learning to savor each moment is a life long struggle. But she told me that sharing some drinks and dinner with a friend, especially an eternal optimist like me, was as good as it gets. At that precise time and place, neither of us wished to be anywhere else. I guess that is the key. It's tough to savor things in a world of Debbie Downers. Everything can be deconstructed -- the restaurant could be better -- the martini bigger elsewhere. But the ability to enjoy a moment with a friend -- well, that is special. And so it was last night.