I just had a moment with my son. I was sitting on the john starting to read a book. It was about 6:15am and he comes around the corner, like he does every morning, and says “good morning” while giving me a hug. Sitting on the toilet no less. I kiss him on the forehead and tell him that I love him. He then sits down on the bathroom rug next to me and says with all the passion of a four-year old, “Dad, I really want some pancakes.” Then he furrows his brow and looks at me intensely, “Dad…” he pauses for effect, “I… love… pancakes.”
I laughed and took in the moment. I looked into his hazel eyes, thinking about how much he is growing up and how deeply I love him. I put my book down and recognized how important it is to be present in these small and simple moments. That joy only exists in the present.
I saw him. I saw his innocence. I saw his determination and passion. I saw his light. I saw and felt his goodness and love. And it all transpired in a brief moment. These experiences can only happen in the present. If I choose to be present. To see. To feel. To listen. To lay aside the future and leave the past where it is, and just be present with my son. Whatever that looks like. I’m not trying to create a memory but a beacon is naturally created to always draw upon and be connected to.
This experience reminded me of a chapter in C. S. Lewis’s The Screwtape Letters. He writes:
The humans live in time but our Enemy (God) destines them to eternity. He therefore, I believe, wants them to attend chiefly to two things, to eternity, and to that point of time which they call the Present. For the Present is the point at which time touches eternity.
All too often I am, consciously or subconsciously, consumed by the past and the future. They feed off each other, drawing me away from the present and thus eternity. I am grateful for moments like that with my son on the bathroom floor, that remind me of that joy that can only exist in the present.
Article written by Blake Wise: Blake is an entrepreneur, father, husband, and an avid dreamer. He’s flying to the moon one day. And claims to be one of the best cornhole players in the country.
