Savor the moments

Sometimes this world gets so crazy and we all get so busy that we become isolated and we might not notice all that is going on around us. We were traveling over the weekend, and I was so proud to be with Doug. He went out of his way to do some nice things for several people we encountered – including giving a little extra to our waitress one evening and helping a lady with her bags on the airplane. I savor these small kindnesses. We may not be able to make big changes in the world, but we can impact our own little corner of the world and the people we encounter each day.

Recently, I read a poem in the New York Times that has stuck with me, and I’d like to share it here:

Small Kindnesses by Danusha Lameris

I’ve been thinking about the way, when you walk 

down a crowded aisle, people pull in their legs 

to let you by. Or how strangers still say “bless you” 

when someone sneezes, a leftover 

from the Bubonic plague. “Don’t die,” we are saying. 

And sometimes, when you spill lemons 

from your grocery bag, someone else will help you 

pick them up. Mostly, we don’t want to harm each other.

We want to be handed our cup of coffee hot, 

and to say thank you to the person handing it. To smile 

at them and for them to smile back. For the waitress 

to call us honey when she sets down the bowl of clam chowder, 

and for the driver in the red pick-up truck to let us pass.

We have so little of each other, now. So far 

from tribe and fire. Only these brief moments of exchange. 

What if they are the true dwelling of the holy, these 

fleeting temples we make together when we say, “Here,

have my seat,” “Go ahead—you first,” “I like your hat.”

It’s December. The season of magic and love. My wish for you is that you can find some time to slow down and focus on what’s really important. And don’t forget to savor the moments.

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