This is your real life.

Today. Right now. Not tomorrow or next week or next year.

Now.

Life can take on an unreal quality. It’s easy to forget that this is it. This is the real thing. It’s not a dress rehearsal for the life that’s coming.

The only life you’re promised is right now.

Even when it feels mundane and unglamorous.

Even when you’re in a foul mood or someone you love is in a foul mood.

This is it.

Even when you don’t like it.

This is your life.

It’s easy to think about the future and where we want to go or where we don’t want to be. We can plan and look ahead and dream.

But, we don’t know if tomorrow will come.

What we do have is now.

Now is our chance to wake up to what is, even if we don’t like it.

Now is our chance to look around us and to really see.

It’s our chance to take in the mountain views and relish them and their ruggedness.

It’s our chance to hear the birds sing and watch them flit from branch to branch.

It’s our chance to watch the mated pairs of ducks and to wonder about those still unpaired.

It’s our chance to be with — in mind and body — the people in our lives.

It’s our chance to listen to them when they’re excited and also when they’re crushed from a long, hard day.

It’s our chance to witness their tears and heartbreak and to share our love with a hug.

It’s our chance to let our own tears — or maybe laughter — flow freely because that’s what we need.

It’s our chance to delight in the mystery of life and to marvel at all that we still don’t know about ourselves and each other.

It’s our chance to be in awe of the intricate web of connection that makes up our lives.

It’s our chance to wonder what would be different if we had taken one or two or 10 different paths and whether we would have landed here or somewhere completely different.

It’s our chance to snuggle with our loved ones — furry and human — and enjoy the sense of peace that comes with being close to them.

It’s our chance to frolic and play in the snow and in the rain or anywhere we are because we can.

It’s our chance to dream up fantastic, unbelievable stories to put a smile on a young person’s face and maybe even your own.

It’s our chance to dedicate ourselves to learning a craft or a skill or a body of work, so that it slowly becomes part of us, no longer separate but a living aspect of who we are.

What is it your chance to do right now — today — in your one real life?

Joanna Zaremba is a writer, yoga teacher, and movement and mindset coach. She gives her clients the tools they need to feel good, so they can do what matters. She has lived in the Pikes Peak Region since 2011 and can be reached at www.joannazaremba.com

This is your real life.

Today. Right now. Not tomorrow or next week or next year.

Now.

Life can take on an unreal quality. It’s easy to forget that this is it. This is the real thing. It’s not a dress rehearsal for the life that’s coming.

The only life you’re promised is right now.

Even when it feels mundane and unglamorous.

Even when you’re in a foul mood or someone you love is in a foul mood.

This is it.

Even when you don’t like it.

This is your life.

It’s easy to think about the future and where we want to go or where we don’t want to be. We can plan and look ahead and dream.

But, we don’t know if tomorrow will come.

What we do have is now.

Now is our chance to wake up to what is, even if we don’t like it.

Now is our chance to look around us and to really see.

It’s our chance to take in the mountain views and relish them and their ruggedness.

It’s our chance to hear the birds sing and watch them flit from branch to branch.

It’s our chance to watch the mated pairs of ducks and to wonder about those still unpaired.

It’s our chance to be with — in mind and body — the people in our lives.

It’s our chance to listen to them when they’re excited and also when they’re crushed from a long, hard day.

It’s our chance to witness their tears and heartbreak and to share our love with a hug.

It’s our chance to let our own tears — or maybe laughter — flow freely because that’s what we need.

It’s our chance to delight in the mystery of life and to marvel at all that we still don’t know about ourselves and each other.

It’s our chance to be in awe of the intricate web of connection that makes up our lives.

It’s our chance to wonder what would be different if we had taken one or two or 10 different paths and whether we would have landed here or somewhere completely different.

It’s our chance to snuggle with our loved ones — furry and human — and enjoy the sense of peace that comes with being close to them.

It’s our chance to frolic and play in the snow and in the rain or anywhere we are because we can.

It’s our chance to dream up fantastic, unbelievable stories to put a smile on a young person’s face and maybe even your own.

It’s our chance to dedicate ourselves to learning a craft or a skill or a body of work, so that it slowly becomes part of us, no longer separate but a living aspect of who we are.

What is it your chance to do right now — today — in your one real life?

Joanna Zaremba is a writer, yoga teacher, and movement and mindset coach. She gives her clients the tools they need to feel good, so they can do what matters. She has lived in the Pikes Peak Region since 2011 and can be reached at www.joannazaremba.com