The Gift of Presence

While on my morning walk today, along the water's edge at the back of a wooded field, I came upon an enormous turkey vulture sitting atop the remains of a broken tree trunk just twenty feet away.  I pulled my camera from my pocket and tried to quiet the dog as I moved toward it.  The bird stirred, and I noticed there were two more.  They quickly flew to a higher spot in the near trees.  I snapped a shot but something happened and the picture was gone.  Again, I tried to move closer while holding dog and camera.  One of the birds sat on a long branch with its wings outstretched to reveal its amazing wingspan.  Again, I tried to get a picture.  These creatures were not to be photographed, however, and they took flight.  I thought to myself, "In my urgency to take a picture, I missed the whole thing!"

This reminded me of a beautiful fall, many years ago, when the turning leaves were more brilliant than I had seen before or have experienced since.  Nearly every day I would go for long walks to take in the color.  I considered carrying my camera but decided that I would rather fully experience my entire surroundings than focus on small details while searching for the perfect photo.  I don't have pictures to look back on, but I have vivid memories of my daily leaf collections and the crown I made from them for a Halloween celebration--the memory of being fully present during a time that has yet to be repeated.

It would have been great to have a photo to share with this post, but as it is I'm writing about the experience that I almost had rather than what I could have actually fully taken in.  What is the most memorable experience you have had with being fully present?  How can you become more open to such experiences more frequently?