So here we are! The very end of the weirdest year ever! Or is it?
It is true that conditions have been different and challenging. It hasn’t all been good but it certainly hasn’t all been bad. I know several folks who have had a most successful year. Some folks used the isolation from society as an opportunity to introspect and find those crevices within that could use some personal development. Others STARTED new businesses in the middle of a global shutdown! Some folks have endured extreme heartache and difficulty. Some have had to face unbelievable health challenges and even death all alone. A huge segment of people stayed glued to the news and let “the numbers” become a part of daily living. Then there are the heroes of healthcare and transportation who worked endless and grueling hours. Emotion builds in my heart as I write that sentence. They really are heroes. I give them honor today for the courage, bravery and stamina it takes to be on the front line.
Most of us have been forced to change the way we do things but can we “really” pin it as the weirdest year ever? I confront us with this question only to encourage a new mindset.
The picture you see above is a gift from a very good friend who had a memento made using one of my daily practices. I have collected “Perfect Moments” for years. I promise when you start actively seeking a perfect moment, it will not fail to show up. Let me assure you that a perfect moment is not the same as an extravagant moment. Extravagant moments are well commended but not near as frequent. A perfect moment is quite simple. It is that first sip of morning coffee, a lyric in a song that grabs your attention, a baby’s laugh, a breath of fresh air after (or during) a rain, the sound of thunder, a phone call from your child, a text from a friend, a pet that meets you at the door, etc. The list can go on and on!The point is when you become a constant seeker for a perfect moment – a positive mindset begins to shift your future into a different lane. A lane of peace and joy and ultimately – opportunity. Your days have more sunshine and your nights have more dreams! I know it sounds too simple and a bit quirky but that is pretty much me in a nutshell – quirky enough to pull the gold out of otherwise dismal circumstances and simple enough to let go of the things I cannot control anyway.
We are closing 2020 and opening 2021. A new year gives us the opportunity to set new goals and even restore hope where hope has been lost. However, don’t get locked into the numbers that fill the boxes on the thing called the calendar. It may help organize our lives and manage the time between sunrise and sunset BUT time will pass anyway no matter how we fill our days. Time will and can heal those places in the heart with open wounds of the past or present.
I agree with Linda Ellis who wrote “The Dash Poem”
I read of a man who stood to speak at the funeral of a friend. He referred to the dates on the tombstone from the beginning… to the end.
He noted that first came the date of birth and spoke of the following date with tears, but he said what mattered most of all was the dash between those years.
For that dash represents all the time they spent alive on earth and now only those who loved them know what that little line is worth.
For it matters not, how much we own, the cars… the house… the cash. What matters is how we live and love and how we spend our dash.
So think about this long and hard; are there things you’d like to change? For you never know how much time is left that still can be rearranged.
To be less quick to anger and show appreciation more and love the people in our lives like we’ve never loved before.
If we treat each other with respect and more often wear a smile… remembering that this special dash might only last a little while.
So when your eulogy is being read, with your life’s actions to rehash, would you be proud of the things they say about how you lived your dash?
I leave you with this encouragement my friends. Peer into the hidden corners of each day and collect some perfect moments. Let them saturate the memories in your mind so they’re available to retrieve at any time. Keep a journal to help you reflect. When the calendar tells us another year has passed – we may conclude that it really wasn’t as weird as it seemed! Writing this blog has been a “Perfect Moment” for sure. Have a fabulous NEW YEAR and by all means
ENJOY THE JOURNEY – VB