There is only one important time, and that time is now. The most important one is always the one you are with. The most important thing is to do good for the one who is standing at your side”

—“The Three Questions” by Jon J. Muth based on a story by Leo Tolstoy

“In Every Moment Be Present.”

I looked this phrase up before I sat down to write because I vaguely remembered a quote that I wanted to reference that had to do with this topic.

I didn’t find it.

What I found instead, because I am not so good at typing and my eyes are tired, was something about songs that are popular at the moment. I misread it as “In Every Moment Be Popular.”

I paused before rereading, but only for a moment. I almost didn’t pause at all because in this day and age that actually seemed like something that might pop up first on a Google search.

Being “popular” in this moment in time DOES seem have superseded being “present.”

Being “in the moment” and “present” gets you far more “likes” if you can share it with people who are not actually in the moment or present with you. If you can “check out” of the present moment and ignore the people sharing it with you in order to crop, filter and “share” the moment (which has now passed) with other “friends” you are gaining in popularity…..but missing out on life.

This is one of the many lessons I have learned from having dogs.

Dogs are good for people with depression and anxiety.

Dogs give you a reason to go outside.

Dogs give you a reason to go for a walk and breathe fresh air.

Dogs give you a reason to go to the park and engage with strangers.

Dogs give you a way to engage with strangers without the focus being on “you.” The focus is always on the dog “What kind is he?” “Where did you get him?” “What is his name?”

Dogs are engaged and present in every moment of their lives. Sitting in the yard in the late afternoon sun, they are cocked and ready. One is on alert listening to the neighbors getting into their car, wondering where they are going and wondering if he should join them. The other, ears perked, is focused on the trees and the squirrels he can sense there. They are “one” with all of the sights and sounds and smells of this moment. They breathe it in, take it in, roll in it, run with it. They immerse themselves so fully that it is sometimes impossible to pull them out and call them in. Here and now are all they know. Even in their sleep their ears are always present, always listening.

Dogs give YOU a reason to be fully engaged and in the moment.

Dogs want ALL of your attention and they want it RIGHT NOW.

They “like” you more for being with them now. They don’t care about those “friends” on the phone screen; the ones you are ignoring them for. The ones who can’t scratch their heads or throw the ball for them.

Dogs are your friends and they are here in this moment now.

The sun has shifted a degree, the wind has picked up a fraction. The squirrels are chattering, planning a revolution.

“Can you feel it?” the dogs ask.

“Can you sense it?” they whine.

“Are you in this moment?”

“Are you here with me now?”