Important Moments in Life

ByHeather

Sooner or later we all discover that the important moments in life are not the advertised ones, not the birthdays, the graduations, the weddings, not the great goals achieved. The real milestones are less prepossessing. They come to the door of memory unannounced, stray dogs that amble in, sniff around a bit and simply never leave. Our lives are measured by these.

— Susan B. Anthony

I have never been very big on holidays like birthdays, anniversaries or Christmas. They seem like such artificial constructs to me. Years ago I reached a peaceful truce with my family and friends to not exchange gifts at such times. We have all been enjoying stress-free holidays ever since.

I don’t mean to demean the important moments in life. I just think that the important moments aren’t demarcated by the traditional calendar dates. I will never forget the incredible taste of the macaroni and cheese from The Fat Duck or the thrill of bringing home a new car for the first time. I celebrate every house or apartment that becomes my new home with a quiet greeting and a prayer. I say goodbye to each residence in the same way. Staring at a full moon is an opportunity to celebrate the magic of being alive on this amazing celestial ball.

Celebrate the moments that are important to you and the ones you love. They occur much more often than you may realize. And don’t worry so much about the dates that fall on the calendar.

Similar Posts

  • Checks and Balances

    ByHeather

    Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

    — Lord Acton

    I was born in Canada and came to the US between my sophomore and junior year in high school. One of my first courses in my newly adopted country was high school civics. I learned with a newcomer’s sense of awe about the three branches of government and their important role in each checking the power of the other. It is highly attributed that this system of checks and balances is the genius of the America.

    In the intervening years since those wide-eyed high school years I have been a casual observer of the reality that power and money are self preserving. …

  • Choose your rut carefully…

    ByHeather

    Choose your rut carefully, you’ll be in it for the next 50 miles.

    — Highway sign

    According to folklore, the above sign was spotted on the Alaskan highway. Or perhaps it was posted along the highways in the 20’s and 30’s, before blacktop became prevalent. Regardless of the source, it has served as an apt metaphor many times in my life.

    Each day we are faced with thousands of decisions: what to have for breakfast, what to wear, when to work out, how much time to spend surfing my RSS feeds. Most decisions have very short-term implications and can be corrected if errant.

    Occasionally decisions arise that have much longer-term implications: whether or not to take that new job, move to that new city, attend a certain college or purchase a particular car. In these cases, deliberation pays dividends. When I find myself facing such decisions I classify them with the “Choose your rut carefully” label. It may not be the most glamorous metaphor but it helps me take the time I need to make solid decisions.

  • Spelling

    ByHeather

    People who can’t spell a word in more than one way are dumb.

    — W. C. Fields

    I stumbled upon this quote early in my career and have had the opportunity to recite it countless times. I taught high school for two years right out of college and the students were merciless. I moved on to teaching at the college level for many more years where the students were more forgiving but no less astute. Then I made the move to corporate America where, as a business professional, there no end to the opportunities to make presentations or take notes at the whiteboard. Despite my passionate commitment to correct spelling and grammar an occasional misspelling in front of the class or a typo in the PowerPoint deck is inevitable.

    Here is where our old friend W.C. Fields comes to the rescue. After discovering a spelling mistake in front of a group of people I simply recite his pearl of wisdom, wait for the mild aknowledgement of smiles, and move on. No need to have your confidence shaken or allow the audience to derail your message. Just move on quickly with wit and aplomb.

    The aphorism plays equally well from the audience as it does from the podium. It is a great way to help a presenter through a rough spot if they become unnerved by a typo.

  • Influence

    ByHeather

    You have not converted a man because you have silenced him.

    — John Morley

    How many times have I wished that I had this pithy little quote on a card in my purse, ready to be handed to a belligerent blowhard, or an incessant evangelist, on a moment’s notice?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.