Right Here, Right Now

Right Here, Right Now

John Paul Derryberry

It was the second year I had left my car parked at my office and decided to walk. The community block party born out of my idea that everything I do has to be serviced related, but it can be just lets have fun in the same space as others. After a long three hours of talking with volunteers, mingling with folks from the neighborhood, and doing my 20-minute shift in the dunk tank, the walk to my car provided a moment of reflection on an otherwise hectic day. As so many of us jump from one interaction to the next, one life goal to the next, we often need to take stock of the question, are we in the correct place and at the right time in our life.

It stems from the common notion that we are not encouraged to ever feel like we are at the right place at the right time. There is always this tug that we must be on the next: the next election, the next stage of life, the next career path. We need to be taught to understand that we can be joyful and content. Surely someone else must be happier, better, feel more accomplished, and so we must chase them. For some lucky reason, that type of mental pursuit hasn't occurred often in my life. I'm not immune to that thinking; I've gone down that rabbit hole of sadness.

Yet on the walk back to my car after my agency's 3rd annual successful block party, I had a little skip to my step. It wasn't some over-the-top fundraiser or the groundbreaking of a new program; all stuff I strive to accomplish because the more we do that, the more mainstream mental health services become. But the skip in my step was from a block party under the theme that not in every interaction with a non-profit, by people who need assistance, should those folks be hit overhead with services.

Sometimes the answer is to break bread with people from different backgrounds, social and economic tiers, and functional levels. It's a simple approach to the idea we have the power to change the lives of others. My skip in the step was from the fact the block party was just that, a cross-section of society having fun together, unconcerned about each other's background and consumed with having a good time. I wasn't wondering if I needed to be anywhere else, wasn't pinning to have a different job, or if I needed to be carving out and advancing my career path. I was in the moment of realizing; right now, I'm in the correct place in life.

It's a good feeling to feel and know you are in the right here and right now moment of life. I imagine it feels like riding a wave in the ocean. While I assume it's tough to do, you want to ride that wave for as long as possible when you find yourself riding it. Well, that's how I felt on my walk home Wednesday night. I find myself again in the right time and right spot in life. I do not know how long that lasts, but I look forward to riding it as long as possible.