Staying present in the moment is a challenge.

A bird flitted across my path this morning as I walked around Walden Pond near my home in Massachusetts.  It took maybe a second to startle, pass right in front of me and disappear into the woods. I was immediately totally present. As i walked on I tried to maintain that moment's wakefulness and awareness but in the very trying my mind had already seized on the event and begun to extract its meaning. I thought of how many moments like that make up a day and how many moments are missed as the mind churns its apparently endless stories.

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Its hard enough to remain present in the moment, even in the peace and quiet of the early morning woods. Our minds are still there hitching a ride, chattering away and stealing our attention. But we make it even more difficultr for ourselves. A minute or two later I passed a guy taking his morning walk with his IPod buds firmly in his ears.  How much harder is it to be in the moment in the peaceful woods while listening to  a play list?

I love using my IPod but if I couple that activity with another one - even one as beautiful as walking in nature, I find it impossible to stay present to what I am listening to. For me, multitasking is not conducive to being in the moment.

Just then I passed the site of Thoreau's cabin where he wrote Walden Pond.

His mantra: "Simplify, Simplify, Simplify" seemed particularly fitting.