We get so focused on the big things in life. The milestones, the achievements, the successes and failures. But, life isn’t made up of the big events… it’s made up of the moments. Moments are the connective tissues of our lives. It’s in the moment’s that we can truly feel grace, joy, awareness, vulnerability, courage, peace, gratitude.
I was reminded of all this as I showed up to the hospital this morning to spend the day with my dad while my mum is in surgery. This is one of those BIG events. The ones where you feel a lot of emotions and sometimes don’t know which way is up.
But, as I stood in the prep room with my mum before they rolled away for surgery, I was struck by an awareness of each moment. Imprinting into my mind each second, savoring them. Being present. Not worrying about the future or rethinking the past. Just enjoying that moment. Squeezing her hand and telling her I love her. Watching my dad give her a kiss and walking to the waiting room with me. Both of us feeling vulnerable and a tad overwhelmed, trying to be strong, knowing that it will all be okay.
In such a vulnerable moment, I was struck by the kindness of the nurse assisting my mum before surgery. “She’ll be okay”, he reminded us, “make sure that YOU are okay. Take time for yourself. Eat something. Drink water. Remember to take care of yourself.”
In that moment of our pure vulnerability, his compassion and thoughtfulness made a big impression on me. Sitting here now, thinking back to that moment, I’m overwhelmed with gratitude. He took the time to put himself in our shoes and show us grace. He went out of his way to show kindness. With a simple moment, he made a difference in someone else’s day… someone that was clearly facing a long day.
I’m trying to be more mindful of taking inventory of these moments that we can often overlook. Moments like the one this morning where he reminded us to care for ourselves while he cared for my mum. The women who’s volunteering her time to run the waiting area caring for everyone eagerly waiting for news about their loved ones. The barista that gave us a sweet smile and said, “Have a nice day, okay?”.
We can so easily overlook these moments, finding ourselves on the other side looking back and seeing only that a day was spent in the hospital while we were scared and trying to be strong. It can be easy to forget these little moments. But these are the moments are where life is lived. If we’re aware of them, present and open, these moments can be absolutely beautiful.
Here’s the thing I want you to remember from this post, today and every day: you have the chance to make a difference in someone’s life. And, it only takes a moment.
Go out of your way to do something nice for someone else. Put positive energy out there. Smile at someone. Ask how someone is, then wait for the response and truly listen. Tell someone why you appreciate them.
Today, I’m taking a moment to write a gratitude note to the nurse that took care of my mum this morning. It doesn’t have to be perfect, eloquent and neatly penned. It just has to be real. Authentic. I want him to know that the moment he took MATTERED in my life. When I was scared his moment of kindness meant the world to me. That moment mattered enough to inspire this entire post that I hope will have a butterfly effect as each of you go out and invest a moment in someone else.
And, I’m also taking a moment to show gratitude to the amazing human and brilliant mind behind The Studio Ease. Lauren sent me these lovely little gratitude cards last week for a completely different post we’re working on, but, this morning they were just sitting there on my desk so I threw them into my bag. Lauren created these little notes for exactly moments like this- when we want to show gratitude and appreciation for someone but don’t have the time or space to make a big gesture. But, that’s the thing about gratitude. It need to be big, it just needs to be timely and authentic. Shown in the moment- sometimes even using something that we already happened to have in our bag.
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