I think I’ve figured it out – the secret to leading a full life is to string together as many meaningful experiences as possible. Think about it – when we fall into predictable routines, life becomes dull. It loses its luster. We get up. We go to work. We come home. We do it again the next day. If we’re lucky, this grind is dotted with exciting nuggets that keep things interesting. But for most of us, this is how we go through life. Except for weekends, and vacations, life is routine. Machinelike. Predictable. The stuff that matters most, the stuff of memories, is far less frequent. And far less predictable.
I’m currently on summer vacation with my family. We do it every year at about the same time. Basically, a routine. But the thing that dawned on me this trip is how the experiences that matter most are never the really big things we plan in advance – but the little things we can’t predict. The moonlight splashing across my daughter’s face as I carry her to her bedroom after a long day of snorkeling. The setting sun in my wife’s eyes as we share an ice cream on a pier. The getting caught in a rainstorm on the opposite side of the island and the laughter that fills the golf cart all the way back home. These are the meaningful experiences that stay with me. These are the things that make my regular life worth the effort. Because the truth is, no one who is at the end of their life ever looks back fondly at their routines. No, the secret to leading a full life isn’t about how much work we can squeeze out of every day, or how much wealth we can accumulate – it’s about the little moments we can’t predict. The meaningful experiences that stay with us forever.
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Nichole
Jul 1, 2012
I love that you get to have these moments. You are so deserving of them. Not that anyone else isn’t, but you especially are. I’m allowed to be biased.
Thanks for the great reminder to appreciate the little things. It has been so long since I had moments like this. It’s time that I slowed down and worked on making a better life with better memories.
James Moffitt
Jul 1, 2012
Very nice blog post! One of my G+ friends told me about this blog post and encouraged us to read it. I am so glad that she did. 🙂 You are correct about trying to slow down and appreciate the little things of life. As I grow older I am finding that easier to do. I look for moments in time that I can appreciate and remember. I am a bit envious that you can afford to go on vacation every year and that it is a routine. Hopefully my wife and I can do that after the kids are out on their own. My vacations usually exist of four day weekends away from work that are stayvacations but I am still on call during the day. I am not complaining, I am thrilled that I have a good job that provides us with income to live on and benefits such as health insurance. I know there are a LOT of folks in this life that are not that fortunate.
Liz DeLoach
Jul 1, 2012
Thanks for the reminder on the joy and meaning that comes from life’s unexpected and meaningful moments!