I thought the meaning of life was to achieve big things, to hit big milestones, to be someone, and to do something. I don’t remember what I was doing or where I was, but suddenly I realized that there are no big or small moments; they are just moments.
Getting a new phone might be a big moment for you, while for someone else it doesn’t mean anything. A birthday might be a celebration for some, while others believe it’s a regular day. We label moments as good or bad, happy or sad, fun or boring.
My happiest moments were not during special events. My happiest moments were watching a sunset in Hawaii, waking up before sunrise and listening to birds, looking in my son’s eyes and realizing I created that little human, walking in nature, and listening to the silence in the forest.
I have realized that unless you master enjoying small daily mundane tasks, you can’t enjoy and appreciate the big ones. I lived a big chunk of my life for the next moment, and the moment where I was satisfied and happy never came until I made it count. Until I consciously soaked in the moment and became present in whatever I was doing.
How many people do you know achieving so much but never stopping to celebrate or feel gratitude? How many people seem to have everything, yet even everything feels like nothing to them?
Michael A. Singer said something that stuck with me: “You have to understand that it is your attempt to get special experiences from life that makes you miss the actual experience of life.” The actual experiences of life are being in traffic, school drop-offs, and boring workdays. It’s a crazy neighbor and a spilled coffee. So many things are out of our control, but there is so much we can control.
Somehow, the more you practice, you fall in love with those moments. Then the most profound thing happens: you change. Then everything around you changes, and even the sound of a keyboard starts to feel like music. The most boring moments become interesting, and you start to live in a state of curiosity rather than judgment.
You were enough from day one; you are someone already. You have so much potential, and you can do so much more if you stop chasing the next moment and start building in this very moment.
