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Forgetting About Age And Living Today

Physically, I know that I am 61 years old. I have a birth certificate that tells me that. Although, when I look in the mirror, I see myself as a young man. I don’t look over 30. That is because, in my mind, I don’t have an age. I don’t dwell on the past or spend much time on the future. I try to live in the Now and experience life as it is happening.

Every Saturday during football season, I meet up with fellow alumni to watch the game. Most of the time, the same crowd shows up, and we are in the same age group. This past Saturday, a young lady in her 20s joined us and sat next to me. We had the most engaging conversation. During this conversation, there was no difference in age between us. We were conversing on the same level.

Age Did Not Matter

I did not feel as if she viewed me as an older man and, I looked at her as no different than me. The difference in our age, as well as our gender, race, experiences, etc., were broken down; they disappeared. This happened because I was living in the Now.

Now is the moment in time that I am experiencing, right that second. I am not thinking of my past or my future. Most of our thoughts focus on the past and the future. We are not thinking about life as it’s happening. When I live in the past and the future; I think about age. How many years have passed, and how many I have left.

I Viewed Her As an Equal

If I would have been thinking physically, I would have focused on the difference in our age and not on the conversation. I would have looked upon this young woman as a child, someone who needed my knowledge, more like my daughter. Instead, by forgetting about age, I viewed her only as of the person she is. I was talking to a person, not someone of different age.

It has always been easy for me lately to engage in a conversation with people my age. As humans, we seek out people similar to ourselves. By only being around similar people, my focus would be on our age. We could all sit around and tell “war stories” of our past.

Living In The Now

Living in the Now and forgetting about age, I can experience life through someone else’s eyes. They can talk about their experiences and share their stories. By listening as a person, I understand what others are feeling at this moment in their life.

I have followers of all ages. When I read their blogs, I learn so much about what they are going through. I can learn as much from a 17-year-old as I can from a 70-year-old. I don’t know what it is like being a teenager in another country today. By living in the Now and breaking down the age barrier, I read the articles as if we are the same age.

We All Have Gifts

We all have something to teach one another despite our age differences. You never know who you can help with your experiences. If you feel the inspiration to write, then write. Live in the Now. Experience life as it is happening right now and embrace it. Good things or bad things may be happening. No matter what is happening, embrace the experience.

Bad times never last forever. Embrace all times and give thanks. Better times are ahead! So, when you find yourself near someone of a different age group, look at them as the same as you. Live in the Now. You might make a new friend. Always remember, age is just a number.

Cites

Living in the jungle was both boring and exciting. It all depended on what was happening and could change in an instant. Living in the now became commonplace. There wasn’t a lot of time to be thinking about the past or worry about the future.

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We Were Living In The Now

Life inside our base camp was mostly monotonous. We look forward to going on operations and getting into the jungle. I spent a lot of time cleaning and prepping gear, as well as reading. The temperature inside the tent would quickly reach 100 degrees. I don’t remember ever being cool or dry; I was always sweating.

One day as I was lying in my bunk reading and sweating, I was suddenly startled by the “burp” of a machine gun. I saw bullet holes appearing in the roof of the tent. I immediately rolled off my bunk onto the floor, grabbing my weapon. My teammates and I made our way outside the tent. Much to our dismay, we saw the Peruvian commander standing outside the barracks across from our tent holding an Uzi machine gun.

The weapon was seized on a mission the day before, and the commander wanted to test fire it. Not being familiar with the weapon, he did not know how to handle it. Without any warning, he pointed the weapon at the sandbag wall facing our tent and squeezed the trigger. The Uzi recoiled violently up into the right. He lost control, and the rounds went over the wall, into our tent. We had to be living in the now because these events can happen at any time.

Always Ready

Our base camp was in the Upper Huallaga Valley in Peru. This area was controlled by the Sendero Luminoso communist terrorist organization. They would protect the narco-traffickers and did not like us gringos. Occasionally, they would attack our base camp. We always had to be ready.

living-in-the-now-soldier-riverbank-helicopters — My Jungle Days

One night I was dead asleep when I was awoken by two explosions. Thinking it was another attack, we proceeded to our defensive positions. Later we found out it was just a Peruvian police officer. He’d gone a bit crazy and attacked others inside the base camp with grenades and rifles. Luckily no one was injured.

Situational Awareness

The other day as I was reminiscing about life in the jungle, I realized that most people are not aware of what is happening right now. They are too busy thinking about the past and the future. Learning to live in the now is important. Your thoughts are mostly comprised of your past and future. If something bad happened yesterday, you dwell on it for days. It can create anger which boils inside of you. If your thoughts are constantly about the future, are you wondering how things will turn out? Wondering can create anxiety and worry.

You can take control of your thoughts by focusing on what is happening right now. Look for all the good things going on around you. Concentrate on living in the now. I was lucky to learn this growing up, even though I didn’t know I was doing it. I didn’t realize how important it was, but I did it.

Thank You Dad

My father inadvertently taught me how to live in the now. He loved the outdoors, and we spent vacations camping, hiking, and enjoying nature. Dad always taught me to stop, look around, and observe everything. Observe the plants, animals, and sky. Everything that God had created. Many people go on a hike and never lookup. They don’t stop and enjoy the beauty.

In the jungle, outside of the base camp, we had to be living in the now. There was no time for the past or future. Many things can kill you including, snakes, insects, animals, and narco-traffickers.

I had to be aware of everything around me at that precise moment. Listening for unusual sounds and looking for any movements. I had to be able to tell if anything was out of place. I had to be aware of where I was stepping and where I would put my hands. Thinking about the past or future would get me killed. I was forced to focus only on living in the now.

Still Serving Me

The lessons from the jungle serve me well today. I still have thoughts about the past and the future, but today they are controlled. Because I control my thoughts, I am living in the now even when I am thinking. If I feel negative feelings creeping in, I stop and focus on what is happening now to cause those feelings. I use my five senses to immerse myself in the now.

If you are experiencing anxiety, stop, open your five senses, and begin living in the now. Think about what is causing these feelings and how you can stop them. Experience everything around you as it is happening. Let your worries float away and be happy to be alive.

Cites

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