Allez, Être, and Learning to Be Where Your Feet Are

On being present

“But I can’t wait to get there!” cried bird.

“Good,” replied bear, a bit ironically. “Because you know there is no there there, right?”

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📷: Retroflash (4 feet wide by 3+ feet tall)

…

What can you do to be more present today?

A hallucinogenic flash of color.

A dizzying blur of movement.

A low hum of rubber on road.

A rush of wind.

And then it was over, chants of “Allez, Allez, Allez!” fading into the distance.

My first Tour de France experience was over in the blink of an eye. Literally.

Street sweepers trailing just minutes behind the peloton, barricades removed, the moment erased from the streets outside San Sebastián, Spain. It was 1992.

As the world moved on around me, I was left with the feeling of “Wait! That’s it?!”

And, guess what: that *was* it.

Every moment is just that.

It always is.

The idea had captured my imagination: Watch a stage of my favorite thing in the world, Le Tour, while my brother and I were backpacking across Europe.

Then, there was the planning.

The anticipation.

The weeks leading up to.

The day before.

The morning of.

The minutes until.

And then, it was here.

And then, it was not.

Although we stitch them together, each moment is its own, not a promise of something more when added.

Now and now and now.

This and this and this.

Yet, when we “Allez, Allez, Allez” or “Go, Go, Go,” it’s easy to miss where are feet actually are, isn’t it? We race ahead, looking beyond.

Perhaps, the chants from the sidelines of our personal Tour de Vie should be “Être Être Être!” or “Be, Be, Be!”

Be where your heart is.

Be where your eyes are.

Be where your breath is.

Be where your feet are.

Be here now, again and again and again.

To see the colors. To feel the wind. To hear the sounds. To stand up on this rotating ball of dirt and water and know you cherished just one moment. And then another. And another.

What can you do to be more present today?