Living in the Moment

Recently, I had a little epiphany about a bad habit I've had over the years. Too often during things I enjoy, I find myself counting the days, hours, minutes left until that good thing must end. While my brain seems to just be taking stock of how much left enjoyment I get to experience, it can be a real downer on the actual experience by taking me away from the fun. I got to see Ellie Goulding with a friend the other night (Ellie was AMAZING), and on the way there, I realized that I had accidentally left my memory card out of my camera. In the age of smartphones and their advanced cameras, this should have been no big deal, but I am a hoarder and my poor 8G just doesn't have all the memory space I require. So, I tried to open up a bit of space on my phone, and went into the concert with the knowledge that each snap would have to count. With that in mind, I went into the show doing my usual act of capturing every move the performer makes. A few songs in though, as my camera began to fill up, I realized that I wasn't as focused on this music that I loved, as I was on recording the experience to share with others and enjoy later on.
Ironically, I discovered later that night that the videos I recorded were actually at very odd spots in songs and thus were not very useful. However, I was not unhappy with this result. Why? Because, once I realized that I was focusing so much on snapping pictures or quality videos, I put my phone into my pocket, buttoned the flap over top, and set about enjoying the concert and the environment around me. I have to say, the crowd was great, Ellie was an amazing performer, and I had a great experience that I can remember well, all the way through! It was only after putting away the technology and focusing on the event at hand that I began to really enjoy the show. I can remember many such occurances, be they concerts, vacations, parties, etc. where I wasted time that I could have been enjoying on focusing on how much longer I had to enjoy the experience--which of course takes the joy out of it, at least for me.
My absolute favorite book about life in general which literally helped shape the way I think about many things is The Razor's Edge by W. Somerset Maugham. In this book (which I recommend everyone should read), there is a quote which spoke to me, and stuck with me, ever since I first read the book a couple years ago.
"'But endless duration makes good no better, nor white any whiter. If the rose at noon has lost the beauty it had at dawn, the beauty it had then was real. Nothing in the world is permanent, and we’re foolish when we ask anything to last, but surely we’re still more foolish not to take delight in it while we have it.'"-W. Somerset Maugham
I have carried this quote with me for a long time, but apparently never fully submitted to its truth. What is the point in acquiring good things if we won't enjoy them? In the past, I have been afraid of good moments turning into only memories. I feared losing this thing which was momentarily brought within my grasp. But honestly, as the quote denotes, there is no point in trying to hold on to something transitory, like a moment. Wasting time focusing on trying to prolong a moment makes no sense at all, when you think about it. So, enjoy this moment, this second. Not because it will soon be gone, but because it was given to you, and why not be happy at least with that?