Enjoying the moment

By Jeff Becraft

Recently I was driving up I-95 going up to Maryland. I remember talking to my wife at about 8:00 pm. I told her I was only halfway there and still had another four hours to go… and that I was trying not to think about that.

Well, I hit Virginia and pulled off at a rest area right before I go to get on 295 going around Richmond. Getting out of my car and walking across the parking lot (as one comedian would describe it), I was walking like a young deer who had just been born.

As I am heading to the restroom (I take advantage of all of life’s opportunities), I hear laughing and carrying on and a lot of activity. I look over and there is a group of family members sitting on these benches and they have a cooler out and they are munching down on various food items and enjoying the moment. They’re not even at a picnic table. It’s like a family reunion. There’s like a dozen of them.

And they are just having a grand old time… and it is 9:30 pm at night… on an interstate.

I had this huge smile on my face as I walked by. I just got a great kick out of seeing them and I thought, “What a difference…”

Here they are actually enjoying 9:30 pm on a Friday night at a rest area on an interstate. And here I am walking around like Bambi and thinking, “Man… how much longer I still have to go…” and even feeling sorry for myself. What a difference.

But the reality is, who knows how much longer these people had to drive? I can also celebrate at 9:30 pm on a Friday night being on I-95 even with several hours left to drive. It’s really up to me. It’s my choice.

I can be moping around about my circumstances… or I can be celebrating the opportunities that I have at that moment. The choice is ours.

Jeff Becraft is the Director of Our Place of Hope and the Director Emeritus for Youth Corps and has dedicated much of his life to helping shift the vision of people’s lives. Our Place of Hope is a paradigm shift for people living with mental illness that encourages them to regain meaning, purpose, and hope for their lives. You can connect with Jeff at  [email protected].