“What day is it?” asked Pooh.
“It’s today.” squeaked Piglet.
“My favorite day.” said Pooh.
We SJs tend to worry - a lot! It’s as if we think it is our job, so to speak, worrying about our kids, the nation’s future, the direction the world is headed, etc. And we "spend" our time working hard at that "job."
Sometimes we allow ourselves to hold grudges when we have been wronged or we lie awake at night thinking about sad events in our past, things we could have done differently - and wishing we had. We all to often waste precious time upset with, instead of enjoying, those with whom we have relationships. And when they are gone, again we turn to thinking of the past and wishing we'd made better use of the time we had with them.
Can you identify with that?
SPs escape both of those dilemmas by living in the present, grasping each exciting moment and squeezing every last drop of excitement out of each one. Then they are off to the next adventure without a thought for what has past or any concern for what is ahead.
NTs? Well, they could care less about time unless it is a factor in their current project. For them time just interferes with progress.
NFs are more concerned with the future and tend to be content unless their vision sees no hope. And their time is meaningful — meaningful relationships, meaningful work, meaningful play.
But SJs too often tend to allow both past and future to ruin the present.
In the spring, I had the opportunity to take my computer, etc. outside to sit on my front porch and do a lot of my work here. (That is something I yearn to do each spring, but the warm, sunny weather is sometime slow in arriving here in our part of Colorado). Although it meant trying to play catchup from a 10-day vacation and trying to generate energy to drive the wheel of progress toward future goals, I was thoroughly enjoying the “present” that day. The grasses were green on the hill in front of our house. My garden was coming alive and blossoms on my annuals were multiplying daily. I could hear the meadowlarks, finches and redwings singing, and a bald eagle had begun to make a large, dead tree on the hill in front of our house a regular stop on his hunting route. All just seemed right as I enjoyed it that day.
TODAY is my “favorite day” and I am making it a goal to reach for that thought EVERY day!
There’s a great little (and I do mean “LITTLE”) book called The Precious Present that I want to recommend to you. Find it if you can. I won’t spoil the story (which you can read from cover to cover in about 5 minutes), but it’s wonderful and intriguing at the same time. I have a copy on my bookshelf, so if you happen to visit us and are interested, ask me to share it with you. I will!
Meanwhile, if you are an SJ, take the little conversation above between Pooh and Piglet to heart, along with these words of wisdom from Lao Tzu:
“If you are depressed, you are living in the past.
If you are anxious, you are living in the future.
If you are at peace, you are living in the present.”
Enjoy your TODAY! Here’s to a world of wise and happy SJs - including YOU and me!
