When there is something exciting that we are looking forward to, it is so easy to fall into trap of counting down the days. I’m one of those people who like to count down the days: to a birthday, to an overseas trip, to the end of the year… You can see my desktop calendar is well used! There are even apps that will keep track of the days for us and I’m guilty of installing one to count the days for me.

I’ve decided that whilst counting down the days is one aspect of the event, if I am to appreciate the delights in every day and be present, I cannot just tick off the days as they finish. I am wishing away my life if I do that.

I need to make each day count too. Muhammed Ali is credited with saying:

Don’t count the days, make the days count

How can I make the days count?

So, if you read this blog, you will know that I am going to New Zealand soon. I have started counting the days. 11 to go…

But I’m trying to find ways to make the intervening days count by preparing for the trip (lists to be made, packing to be done etc) and journalling about the trip. A few days ago I wrote about my anticipation of the adventure. The time I spent researching for the post got me into the details of the trip and so writing that made me more excited than I was before!

But in the days before I go, I must remember that I can also fall back on my daily routines and practices to keep me focussed and grounded in the present, rather than living in the future. The everyday delights that are part of my mundane daily round, without exception, make my days count and of value. I can continue to…

• … write my Morning Pages which ground me in the here and now
• … take a daily photograph for my 365 project
• … spend time out in the sun, watching the creatures who live around me
• … spend time with friends and loved ones

In fact, I could simply fall back onto doing something every day from my “Feel Good List” that I have been adding to over the last month or so. That is what the list is for after all.