Alive and Present

Architect Frank Lloyd Wright once told of a childhood incident thatnmay have seemed insignificant at the time, but had a profoundninfluence on the rest of his life. It happened when he was nine yearsnold. It was winter. Young Frank was walking across a snow-coverednfield with his uncle. As the two of them reached the far end of thenfield, his uncle stopped him. He pointed out his own tracks in thensnow, straight and true as an arrow's flight, and then young Frank'sntracks meandering all over the field.nn"Notice how your tracks wander aimlessly from the fence to the cattlento the woods and back again," his uncle said. "And see how my tracksnaim directly to my goal. There is an important lesson in that."nnYears later the world-famous architect liked to tell how thisnexperience had greatly contributed to his life's philosophy. "Indetermined right then," he'd say with a twinkle in his eye, "not tonmiss most things in life, as my uncle had."nnHe determined to be alive and present. To be fully aware and squeezenas much life out of each moment as possible.nnWe will miss most things in life if we live in the past. Let us learnnfrom the past, but not live there.nnWe will miss most things in life if we live in the future. Let us plannfor the future, but not live there.nnWe will miss little if we live in the present. And we'll have more funnalong the way!