Personal Perspective: A reflection on aging and savoring precious moments.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about how aging changes what we notice.

One of the gifts of getting older, I am finding, is that I’m not taking things for granted as often as I used to. In the busyness of my younger years, running here, there, and everywhere all at once, I couldn’t have told you which side of our house the sun rises or sets on.

Now, seeing the sun rise over the tree line as I walk up and down our street in the early morning is a daily ritual that grounds me. I treasure the morning light, and I find it nothing short of miraculous that I’ve been given the gift of another day on this beautiful planet—and that the sun shows up yet again, and again—in a predictable pattern that creates a sense of safety in an otherwise fragile world.

As I walk, I make it a point to give thanks for something—my family, my breath, the birds’ symphony of the day, or the sight of the pudgy little groundhog that lives in our yard and keeps returning year after year despite so much else that has changed in this crazy world and with the passage of time.

At night, I often marvel at the cascade of pinks and reds and oranges as the sun sets over our neighbor’s house. To think I missed seeing this for so many years.

Now, don’t get me wrong—I don’t remain in this state of gratitude throughout the day. Far from it. I can easily slip into stress, frustration, aggravation, and worry. Little things can still throw me, and I lose perspective more than I’d like to admit.

Yet, over time, I have come to appreciate the little things and savor the small moments more frequently: the taste of my food, a conversation with my kids, feeling my breath rise and fall slowly and fully before I get out of bed.

It’s bittersweet, this life. With age, there is an increasing awareness that all of this is temporary, fleeting. And yet, at the same time, it all feels more precious. What seems ordinary is really quite extraordinary when I take the time to slow down and take it in.

And in the end, I believe it isn’t necessarily the big momentous events and achievements that matter most, but the day-to-day moments that make up the fabric of our lives in all their richness.

So here’s an invitation:

• Notice something ordinary today long enough to see in what way it might be extraordinary (e.g., consider the food that you’re eating may have grown from a tiny seed and the light of the sun thousands of miles away).
• Consider a short morning ritual that might help ground you and start your day with renewing emotions (even if it all goes to heck as the day goes on).
• Savor one moment today that you might otherwise have overlooked. Linger there and let it land in your body as a felt experience. (What sensations are present? What emotions?)

One of the tools I write and teach about is what I call the “Magnifying Glass.” As someone who is concrete and visual, I find it helpful to imagine carrying around a kind of magnifying glass that reminds me to pause and magnify something in front of me that might otherwise slip away unnoticed.

What might you discover today with your magnifying glass?

Here’s to wishing you much well-being as you move through your week.

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References:

Kurland B. Dancing on the Tightrope: Transcending the Habits of Your Mind & Awakening to Your Fullest Life. Wellbridge Books; 2018.