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MINDFUL MOMENT
2006 04 02 - Diaper Zen

As the father of a five month-old girl, I change a lot of diapers. (Of course, my wife would probably point out that the MOTHER of a five month-old changes even more diapers.)

As a motivational speaker and author, I talk a lot about the power of living in the present moment. I have found that diapers are great for keeping you anchored in the present moment. You see, as soon as there is a diaper to be changed, you know about it. In fact, the whole world knows about it. "Later", "in a minute" and "soon" are simply not options. The diaper demands attention in the present moment - a future moment will not suffice.

Similarly, there's no such thing as pre-changing a diaper. You can't spend some extra time now to "get ahead of the game" by changing two or three in a row. It just doesn't work that way. Diapers are always "in the now".

And so it is with life. Life only happens in the now. We can remember the past and we can think about the future, but we can only live and act in the now. And yet, how many of us are actually doing that?

Do you ever find that you put things off? Have you ever left an "I love you" unsaid because you were sure that there would be time to get to it later? Have you ever taken someone for granted and just assumed that they would always be around? What about the apology that you are withholding out of sheer stubbornness or pride?

I know that if I leave a diaper too long, there will be consequences. Loud consequences! But I'm lucky, because a nasty diaper rash can easily be cleared up in a short amount of time with some cream. Unspoken words on the other hand, can have much more dire consequences. If you've ever listened to the conversations at a funeral, you'll know what I mean about the everlasting pain of things left unsaid.

So let's all strive to live our lives in the present moment. I guarantee that if we do, our future moments will be much better. And if you need some help living in the moment, I am accepting applications for the overnight shift of diaper changing!

ENJOY NOW!
Patrick Mathieu
Expiry Date


"Diaper" backward spells "repaid". Think about it.
- Marshall McLuhan


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