I’ve changed the wake-up song on my phone again. Now it’s “Rise,” by Eddie Vedder. On the ride into work this morning, the song was still stuck in my head, so I put it on in the car. The cattle were out in the pasture grazing as I came up onto the top of the ridge. The sun was shining in a blue sky, with just a few soft clouds dabbed here and there for contrast. Eddie Vedder was singing:
Such is the passage of time, too fast to fold
Suddenly swallowed by signs, lo and behold
Gonna rise up, find my direction magnetically
Gonna rise up, throw down my ace in the hole
It was just a moment. Nothing profound, nothing life changing, but a moment. And I was there for it. And it was beautiful.
I’m sure there’s no shortage of moments–they keep coming, don’t they–but it seems all too rare that I am actually aware of the moment as I am experiencing it. It’s so much easier to be oblivious to the world beyond my own thoughts, but of course more often than not “the good stuff” is not what’s going on between my ears, but what’s happening right in front of my eyes.
Sure, I’d like to string more moments of mindfulness together, but just for today: I was grateful to be present, if only for that one moment, to the flow of my life as I was living it.
365 Simplify 
Oh so yeah. I couldn’t get there today (though it’s all around, the world to rise to, fall down into). Maybe tomorrow; thanks for the hope!
Any day, any time, right?
I just love when a moment happens where what you do and the music you listen to are in sync. Love me some Eddie too 🙂
That whole Into the Wild soundtrack is pretty amazing, I think.
When I was a kid, on weekends, the “wake up music” was John Phillip Sousa’s “Stars and Stripes Forever.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mRn9chmRAYIt wasn’t blissful. I was definitely in the (awful) moment. And with enthusiasm, Dad would say, “Okay boys. Ride and shine and greet the new day.” Strangely, as I am now just waking up and listening to it on my own, I do feel more alert.
Wow. I don’t think I could wake up to a Sousa march!