A Snapshot of Life

It has been a while since my last post and since then I had the good fortune to take a fabulous vacation to Europe. I went with a group of family and friends on a cruise in the Mediterranean. The ship stopped in 10 ports along the way and each one was more fabulous than the last. It was definitely a trip I’ll remember for the rest of my days.

I was going through the pictures, labeling them on the computer and realized something about the picture-taking adventure. I realized that there were times that I was so caught up in taking pictures that I missed the moment of awe. That moment when you’re standing in front of a statue, or the amazing architecture of a building and are just blown away by the enormity of the experience. As I went through he pictures I was able to capture some of the moments. I was able to close my eyes, take a breath and transport myself to the moment when I shot the picture through the view finder. The rush of excitement and amazement coursed through my veins. It’s an experience I’ll be able to keep forever and ever.

Then I began thinking about all those everyday moments we have when we’re potentially missing the awe of the moment. It might be the laugh you have with a good friend, the smell of an apple pie baking in the over, or the beauty of an amazing sunset. When diagnosed with a chronic or life-threatening illness the idea of living in the moment is difficult because as a culture we future trip. We want to get to the end of the journey; believing in our hearts that it will be for the good. However, what are you missing along the way. What moments, experiences, or opportunities are you robbing yourself of my not taking that moment to stop, stand still, and soak in the experience?

I hope you have the chance to tattoo memories or experiences into your consciousness so they will remain with you forever, however long that may be.  I pray that  you are able to be conscious enough to soak in the sights, smells, sensations of the experiences you have on a daily basis.  I understand how difficult that can be given our need to hurry and pack out day full of events, but in doing so what are we missing?  Isn’t it better to have fewer but more memorable experiences in our day?  Let me know what you think about this….