Tonight was 15's chorus concert. It was enjoyable, long and sometimes distracting. I am still surprised, although I don't know why, at how inconsiderate people can be. Kicking seats, talking through the performance, cell phones, crying screaming children, blah blah I could go on. Do you know one year the music director had to remind the audience not to listen to their ipods during the performance because it hurt the children's feelings! I realize these things irritate me because they are things I wouldn't do. I try to remember that I am not the only one in the auditorium. I try not to focus on the things around me that are annoying and to focus on the performance. The one piece of advice my mother gave me was to live in the present. It is actually hard to do. But when you do, you get more out of your time. That brings to mind the memorial day parade 15 was in a few years back. The band held a ceremony at the river by placing a wreath in the water and then marched back to the cemetery. A bugler played an echo in the cemetery while the other bugler played in the distance. While waiting for the band to get to the cemetery I sat on the wall that surrounded the graves and listened. I listened to the bugles, the breeze, and noticed the flags that stood in front of the graves. Time stood still. I know that is why that event is so vivid. Because I was there in whole. When I focus on the now those annoyances are far off in the distance. One can get lost in the negative and being able to catch yourself and say pull back can be difficult. It is worth pulling back. Anger takes up a lot of energy, needless most times.
