I just got back from 4 days spent relaxing in the Northern California wine country, enjoying the hot springs. A lot of the time visiting that area seems to open up perceptions or memories otherwise locked away or long forgotten. What I was reminded of this time around was the nature of time and its value; intention and attention.

Most people who know me reasonably well know that although I am a warm, fun-loving person, I’m also more than a bit of a go-getter. I see time as the most valuable resource I have, and my usual modus operandi is to make the most of every moment, usually in the form of going after something – creating, learning, optimizing, trying something new. It’s not uncommon to see me listening to an audiobook sped up to 1.5x speed while cleaning the house, or watching Udemy lectures while lifting weights, just because I see opportunities to get more out of the moment. Multitasking isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, and science is telling us more about that all the time, but there are still situations where my divided attention suffices, and it doesn’t seem like the things I’m doing necessarily need any more than that. That approach to life gives me a lot – I have more time to learn and grow while doing things at the physical level that don’t really require a lot of my attention – but like anything, it’s not beneficial anymore when taken to extremes without integration of the complement. Running full speed ahead is only a good idea if you know you can put the brakes on when you need to do that…and yeah, that’s my weak spot. 

I was reminded of this when I was soaking in a hot spring. It wasn’t my intention to be oriented around the passage of time, the time of the day, but it was still there just out of habit. Something inside reminded me that sometimes the best way to enjoy the maximum value of your time is to just let go of it altogether – BE. HERE. NOW.

I threw myself into that, and for the overwhelming majority of the next 4 days I was more or less passively drifting in a magical world of dragonflies, ancient waters flowing and pooling, beetles crawling and spiders weaving, blackbirds, and coyotes yipping under the strawberry rose moon as it came full night by night. That practice of being fully in the moment, not having to do anything at all, made for four of the most beautiful days of my life.

When I came back home and picked up my guitar next, I discovered a new strength and vitality in my playing. Experiencing the joy and beauty of a favorite place is definitely strengthening, and I also realized I had probably gotten a much needed rest from all my multitasking and constant endeavoring to cram as much into the day as I can possibly do. I’d probably been operating at something of an energetic deficit of which I hadn’t been aware. If you can be aware of blackbirds soaring and spiders weaving their webs for 4 days, that’s also pretty good preparation for enjoying the precious time spent with a beloved instrument. Most people’s favorite songs to hear or to play don’t last more than maybe about three and a half minutes. That’s a really short time to become present, and sometimes a surprisingly long time to give ourselves permission to just be here now. If we can do it, however, that’s when we’re visited by the magic of music in its fullness.

Whether you go on a grand journey this summer, or whether you stay close to home, I hope you have your own moments of becoming fully present and engaged in something wonderful, however simple!