“One thought has struck me over again. We only have our life one moment at a time. It’s the way we answer the challenge of each moment, face the fear and live the joy and love possible in each moment that enables us to live each moment to the full. Only then can we really live our lives.” [Anonymous Outward Bound Student] Reading this quote last night was my “startled awake” moment. It got me to thinking.

My journey towards “living in the moment” began 21 years ago while participating in an Outward Bound expedition. I signed up thinking it would be a vacation; I couldn’t have been more mistaken. It was a life-changer.

A dozen of us, aged 21 to 70, and our two OB leaders, spent most of the week kayaking for about eight hours a day among the islands off the coast of Maine in Acadia National Park. It was brutal. We slept in sleeping bags on the ground. (Luckily, we were four to a tent; it got awfully cold at night and the warmth was essential to being able to fall asleep.) We started each day with a shivering predawn swim in the Atlantic and never seemed to dry off. We lived in swimsuits, T-shirts, and life jackets. (No one bothered with deodorant after the second day.) We carried our food and water in our kayaks and packed everything out. We cooked over fires that didn’t want to stay lit on the rainy days. We learned to navigate by compass. We were forced to work together; flying solo wasn’t an option. We somehow managed never to get in the way of passing container ships while lost in the heavy fog.

At the end of the week, we spent a day rock climbing on an island off the coast of Maine. I struggled. Luke, our fearless leader, told me to focus on where I’m at instead of always being focused on the end game, the goal. (Rock climbing is awfully hard when you’re looking at the top of the mountain and not at your hands and feet. No wonder I kept falling off the wall.) At that point, I would have tried anything to be able to scramble up that wall like everyone else in the group. So, I listened. And, it worked. Instead of looking up (or forward), I looked straight ahead and placed each hand and foot. I rejoiced after making it to the top.

I’ve always been so focused on where I want to go, what I want to accomplish. I learned that, while goals are good (and even essential), I needed to do a much better job of living in the moment and at really seeing what’s right in front of me.

Of course, after gathering up top, walking to the other side, and looking down into a very deep quarry, we learned that our next challenge was to rappel (that is, descend that near-vertical surface by using a doubled rope coiled around the body) down. I’ve always been afraid of heights. Aren’t we all? I chose Dave and Pete, the strongest of the guys, to belay me (hold my rope) and, after summoning up all the courage that I never realized I had before this trip, stepped off while facing backwards. Once I got past the thought that I would surely fall to my death and realized that they had me, I smiled my biggest smile and sailed to the bottom.

Sometimes, the moment of that first step pops into my mind and reminds me that I can do so much more than I ever imagined.

As stated on its website, after participating in an Outward Bound course, “students return home the same, but changed. They are attentive to their surroundings; observant of the natural world – be it urban block or suburban yard; be it the classroom, family room or boardroom. They listen as a peer or family member finishes a thought. They actively seek feedback – and then reflect on what they have heard. They are less likely to say “no,” more likely to engage in mindful learning, and predisposed and unafraid to dream big.” I couldn’t have said it better.

By the way, I’m still working to live in the moment.