Focus on Now

This week, I’ve been reflecting on two powerful diary entries written by my grandfather just one day apart, in the early days of WW2. They capture something deeply human, something that feels just as relevant today as it did then.

A farewell between two brothers. A train platform. A handshake. A single wave. Then gone.

What strikes me is the restraint. The awkward casualness. The unspoken emotion. They didn’t know it would be the last time they’d see one another and yet, how often do we do the same? We soften our goodbyes. We hold back what we really want to say. We assume there will be another moment but history, and the world around us right now, reminds us that isn’t always true.

As conflict and uncertainty continue to shape lives across the globe, these moments are not just echoes of the past. They are happening now. Families parting. Conversations left unfinished. Love expressed too quietly, or not at all.

The very next day, a different kind of entry. My grandfather George goes to see The Wizard of Oz. Not once but three times. He calls it unrealistic, sentimental, ridiculously optimistic. And yet… it was exactly what he needed. A moment of escape. A glimpse of hope. A reminder that somewhere, beyond the chaos, there might still be beauty. “Somewhere over the rainbow…”

It’s easy to dismiss optimism, especially in difficult times. To see it as naïve or indulgent but what if it’s neither? What if hope is not an escape from reality but a way through it?

Even now, as the world feels uncertain in so many ways, we still need those moments. The pause. The perspective. The belief that something better is possible. Where might a little more hope, imagination or even ‘escape’ support you right now, not as avoidance but as resilience? 

Two days. Two entries. One reminds us to be present in the moments that matter. The other reminds us to hold onto hope when those moments feel heavy. Perhaps that’s the balance we’re all being called to find. Be here and believe in something beyond here, too.

Not everything is within your control but presence and perspective are.

Today, choose one small but meaningful action. Reach out to someone and say what you’ve been meaning to say or intentionally create a moment of hope, watch something uplifting, step outside, pause and breathe.

REFLECTION WITH ACTION: Where in your life might you choose to be more present, more honest, more fully there before the moment passes?