Finding Nemo Every Day

My son loves Finding Nemo, so of course I've seen it eleventy-billion times.  I don't think that he really understands what the movie is about, but he loves the bright colors and since he asks for the movie by name, we are happy to indulge him. Particularly since we already have the movie on blu ray! 

So I was sitting with Zane this morning in my pre-coffee daze, and I started thinking about Dorie.  Dorie is a "boo" fish, as Zane says, who has difficulty with her memory.   She tends to forget things, and therefore doesn't seem as intelligent as Marlin, Nemo's dad, would like her to be.  Marlin is on a mission and he is so focused on that mission that he doesn't have time to think about all the many blessings he receives in his search for Nemo.  Marlin is focused on the past and the future and therefore has no time for the present.

Dorie, with her deficit memory, is all about living in the now.  She may not remember things, but she seems to thrive.  She takes everything as it comes to her, and is grateful for the experience; you can tell just by how happily she embraces life.  When sharks show up, she is happy to join in with her support.  When she is swallowed by a whale, she has absolute faith that everything will turn out.  Even when Marlin makes her cry or causes her to be stung by jellyfish because of his fears, she is quick to forget everything but the good.  The important thing to remember is that Dorie is happy.  She counts each blessing she receives as it comes to her because she lives in the present.  To Dorie, each moment in the now is a gift.  I wish I could be more like Dorie, but I often find myself behaving more like Marlin. 

How many times do we become so focused on what has happened or what will happen that we forget to focus on the now?  I know that I have a tendency to do that; even as I write this, my mind is already moving toward what has to happen tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that.  Part of being an adult is being responsible, and part of being responsible is preparing for the future.  But what if we spend part of each day, maybe the ten minutes before we fall asleep, just living in the now?  What if we just stop and think about the sound of our breathing, the feeling of the cool sheets on our legs, the sound of the ones we love dreaming nearby?  It won't hurt anything, I promise!  And if that might help each of us face the world with a little more faith in ourselves and a bit more positivity, wouldn't it be worth it?