Next time something good happens, stop whatever you are doing, give it a second and appreciate that moment.
– Eric Barker: “The Simple Thing That Makes the Happiest People in the World So Happy”
Dave Gray shared this post today, and it reminded me of our family trip to Destin in 2012. It was the week before I quit my job at Insperity and went full time with Duce Enterprises. I remember being able to stop and savor one moment in particular. I was on our paddle board and had ventured quite a ways up from our spot on the beach and began to circle back when a pod of dolphins appeared and headed toward me. I stopped paddling and watched them approach, and a huge smile came across my face. They were magnificent!
As they reached me, one of them split from the group and went under my board and out in front – perhaps a scout. At that point I decided to start paddling and try to keep up with them. For the next five or six minutes, I was paddling and they were swimming and surfacing all around me. I had not smiled that big in quite a long time, and that smile stayed with my for hours afterward, and even now I am grinning as I write this.
It was a great week because I had already made my decision and drafted my resignation. I had already experienced a successful summer of consulting and process improvement work. However, there was still a considerable amount of stress and a million thoughts in my head about projects, budgets, and more. But I had that moment. And I didn’t need my camera to capture it. I experienced it fully. I savored every second of it. I was changed by it.
And that, my friends, is life.
Savor it.
Loved the post–we’re not a culture that savors genuine experiences. We forget how much had to happen to get us where we are–while we curse our commutes. Thank you Brian.
Thanks for stopping by, Travis. Especially these days, it seems we sacrifice genuine for more and faster experiences. The myth of multi-tasking, the hype of working more and sleeping less, being “busy” all seem like bullshit to me. I’m not innocent, but I’m trying to get over it. We have all this amazing technology and the ability to communicate with and learn from anyone in the world, and yet we’re less efficient and working more? Seems backwards. The savoring of experiences is also a practice in slowing down and reflecting. Which is important. Cheers.