Hello there.
So many of our days go by in a blur as we just try to get everything done, but some days are special. You wake up and know you will always remember them. Maybe it’s your wedding day, the first day of a new job, or some other anchoring event that will stick with you always.
Other times, life surprises you with a big event, and you will always remember those days, too. Maybe a child is born, or a dog needing rescue arrives on your doorstep. Perhaps you have a really great first date, or a terrible one that becomes a funny story you tell forever. You get a diagnosis or are in an accident. You receive an award, or your team wins a championship.
Or maybe the day brings something on a national or global scale. If you are a certain age, you remember where you were on 9/11. We remember assassination attempts, big weather events, blackouts, plane crashes, school shootings, and disasters that shock us all. More and more big events are happening daily, and it can become challenging to remain in a state of shock over all of them, but we never want to become habituated to big news. It is not normal, and we shouldn’t treat it as such.
If you are lucky and paying attention, numerous wonderful, small happenings can anchor your memories, too. Things we might walk straight past, or not notice, can be life-changing, and they often sneak up on you.
One such day comes to mind for me. Years ago, I cleared my morning schedule to buy dental floss.
A good friend found herself in a situation that left her temporarily unable to drive. I had offered to help with errands. She called one morning and asked for a ride to the store for dental floss. I thought it would be easier to simply drop some off, it not being a great day for me to drop everything. But no, she was hellbent on going to the store herself, and I had promised to help, so off we went. It was a large undertaking to get her in and out of the car, and she was, I learned that day, very particular about dental floss. The first store that we went to, CVS, was out of the type she liked. We stood in the dental section for what felt like hours, unable to find a proper substitute. Off to Rite Aid we went, and it wasn’t there either. We scoured the shelves for floss that was flat, unwaxed, and not mint flavored. We looked and looked and ended up with something passable, but not perfect.
The dental floss caper took all morning. At some point, I gave in to the reality that this was happening and decided to treat it as a treasure hunt. I learned something about my friend, about loneliness, and about my patience (or lack thereof), and honestly, I learned a lot about dental floss. I had not even known that there were so many different options! As an aside, I am just realizing now as I write this that, years later in an unrelated event, I was so enthusiastic to my dentist about my favorite brand of floss, Cocofloss, that he looked into it and now sells it at checkout.
Anyway, it is important to pay attention as you engage with the world (without judgment) and be present enough to observe as much as you can. When your friend needs you to be by her side, don’t question it. When interacting with people, try to see them with kind eyes. Be curious. Ask questions. Being open to what is happening instead of trying to do the easy thing is an opportunity to gain knowledge and possibly have an adventure. You might learn about yourself, your loved ones, and the world around you. I learned a lot that morning, and the lessons stuck with me. There were certainly some things that didn’t get done that morning, but I can’t remember what they were.
There is a meditation below for paid subscribers to practice noticing each moment. I hope you give it a try. Have a happy weekend.
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