As I was riding to the airport last Friday morning, my Uber driver received a phone call and I saw the displayed name of the caller: MOM. It reminded me that that name no longer pops up on my phone – not since Mom passed away in January. Rather than feeling sad, my first thought was the question that Mom alwaysasked me whenever I called her: “Where are you?”
As many of you know, I travel a lot and Friday morning I was flying to Los Angeles to visit my son, Eric. Mom would be excited (happy and worried) to know that Eric is living in California, and she’d be thrilled to know that I was going to visit him.
Mom’s question – Where are you? – was literal, since she wanted to know where I was at that time. Sometimes I’d answer Cleveland, and many times I’d tell her that I was in some other city or even another country. She was always excited to find out where I was and to know that I was living an adventure.
There’s also another version of the question, “Where are you?” At the end of the movie Peaceful Warrior (2006), the main character (Dan Millman) answers the following three questions in his head:
Socrates: Where are you?
Dan Millman: Here.
Socrates: What time is it?
Dan Millman: Now.
Socrates: What are you?
Dan Millman: This moment.
Where are you? Here. What they’re referring to in this exchange is being present – right here, right now.
For me, I spend most of my time here. Right here. Right now. This moment. Fully present. Yes, I travel and visit other places, but even when I’m physically in different places, where I am is the same … HERE!
Where are you most days? Have you tried out here? Perhaps it’s time to stop focusing on where your body is and instead focus on where your mind, spirit and soul is. And I highly recommend HERE as the most amazing place to be.
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