To live life one moment at a time in one room at a time would be the foundation of a quality life. Imagine being able to be in the present, fully in one room. Your whole being is present, living only what’s around you. That is the essence of living one moment, one room. I invite you to be in the room with me and explore the concept further.
Prior to diving into the concept, I must give credit where credit is due. While the content of this post is mine, the phrase isn’t quite. In using it, I’m helping to continue the legacy of the television show House. The expression is the title of and part of Season three, Episode 12. (The title is One Day, One Room; the phrase “one moment, one room” is used in the episode.) It’s an inspiring episode. Let’s explore the phrase for inspiration.
Mindfulness and the Meaning of “One Moment, One Room”
The phrase is one of the best descriptions of what mindfulness is that I’ve heard or read. “One moment, one room” is the key to mindful living. This conversation from House illustrates the significance. Dr. House and a patient are having a somewhat heated conversation about a trauma the young woman experienced.
Dr. House: Are you going to base your whole life on someone you got stuck in a room with?
Patient: I’m going to base this moment on someone I got stuck in a room with. It’s what life is. It’s a series of rooms…
The meaning of this is significant. The phrase has three important components:
- One
- Moment
- Room
The Meaning of the Phrase
One is part of mindfulness and mentally healthy living that is commonly overlooked. It’s how the human mind operates. We look for many things at once, be they problems or positives. Often, we multitask. We have a stream of running thoughts that flood our brain. Our actions get in our way, too, when we text or go on social media when we’re spending time with someone. How would things change for you if you embraced one. Attend to one thing, one person, one activity, one moment, one day with your full self?
Moment is our “when.” When do our lives happen? (Hint: The answer is right now, in the present moment. The past has happened. We haven’t arrived in the future. Worries, what-ifs, shoulds, and other automatic negative thoughts rob us from the moment. Life is indeed a series of rooms, and we can only be in one room at a time. How would things be different if you lived in one room at a time, moment by moment?
Room is our where. It’s a setting in our lives. Wherever you are in a moment is where your life is playing out. We can exist in only one room at a time; what’s going on in other spaces is irrelevant right now. How will you design and decorate your room to make it meaningful to you in the moment?
One Moment, One Room: The Epitome of Mindfulness
More than a technique or a practice, mindfulness is a way of life. The more we engage in one, moment, and room, the deeper and richer mindfulness becomes so that we naturally move through moments and days fully present.
The character in House meant many things when she said that she lives in one moment and one room at a time.
- Be present, engaged in your room with your thoughts, emotions, actions, sight, hearing, smell, and touch.
- Be defused from other things. Separate yourself from fears, anxieties, frets, and ruminations by being present only in your current room.
- Accept that you’re in this room right now with these people and these events. You don’t have to stay there indefinitely. But you are “here” right now.
Life is one “now” after another, but we can only live in one at a time because that’s just how moments are. Be present in each room you’re in, and let go of thoughts about the next room and the next person (perhaps imagine your thoughts drifting away on a cloud or floating down a stream).
Living mindfully in one moment, one day, one room lets you live your life well.
