Save the best for last? Not anymore. The time to wear the good stuff, drink the good stuff (before it turns to vinegar!), do all the good stuff now. Why? Because now is the greatest time to do it. Now means you’re here and present, not putting things off until tomorrow. In fact, chronic procrastination takes away from enjoying the present. It’s not hard to associate this procrastination with our present day, or two year period of waiting. It feels as if we’re all waiting until we get to wherever we thought we’d be, another time when it’s easier or better. The fact is that future place is an imaginary one, and differs greatly from person to person, as we all look forward to better days. But what happens if we never ‘get there’? To the imagined state of ‘normal’, or when things are less hectic, or more? What if we stayed with now as the best time to be? What if we didn’t save the best for last, but saved today by bringing out The Good Stuff now?
I was thinking of this the other day when I was cleaning out my closet. There are clothes in there I haven’t worn in ages, partly due to lockdowns (I don’t think my weekly Metro trips would support a ball gown- but maybe after adopting The Good Stuff attitude, who knows?), partly due to my daily uniform as I tend to reach for the same clothes over and over. And let’s face it, Toronto in Winter is all about comfort and warmth, not open toed sandals. But the thing about reaching for the same old, is that it can get stale fast. It kinda reflects the blahs around us, too. We know that dressing up, or taking a little extra time do our hair, imparts a psychological shift, a whispered, “I’m worth it”.
Remember ‘the good room’ when you were a kid? When I was chatting with Leigh, our Discerning Seniors VP, about this month’s blog idea, I mentioned that when I was a kid, it was common for people to have ‘a good room’ in their house. Leigh mentioned the same room existed in her house! Kids were NEVER allowed in there. And frankly, the adults rarely used it as well. This was the room with the good furniture, the good china cabinet, and often its own fireplace. I am not sure what else was in there, as I rarely went in. Sometimes I’d sneak a look though. I’d creak open the door and smell the musty air, having not been moved by human presence in some time. I’d see dust mites dancing in the sunlight tracing through the partly opened curtains. When did we use it? Christmas time, and birthdays or communions. Maybe my mum went in there when we were all in school and she’d have the house to herself.
Looking back on it, I see the practical reasons and the attitude to look after your good clothes or furniture because that generation often came from not having as much as ours now. However, I can’t help but feel we missed out. Why only use a room four or five times a year? Why only keep the good clothes for special occasions? Why not live fully in all the rooms in our houses, not just the good room? Why not make room for The Good Stuff now? Drink out of the crystal now and dance in that good room too. Now is the best time to enjoy life.
