Boys,
I recently read this article about 9-epiphanies one can have of their lives. It was pretty powerful stuff.
One of them, that life unfolds only in moments, is an image that is so clear in my mind it is as if it happened yesterday.
My realization came when I was working at an environmental education center in Navasota, Texas. It was a very rough time for me and I was having all sorts of difficulties. I was sitting on a bench, brooding about the upcoming day, and full of worry about something that I no longer remember. It was a warm humid day, as most days in East Texas are, and was close to fall. Some of the leaves were changing color and were beginning to fall, yellow was the predominant color but out of the corner of my eye I caught a small flash of red. I immediately shifted my focus to the red leaf and watched as it drifted toward the ground. It was backed first by blue sky, then green foliage, and finally the soft brown of the pine needles that carpeted the ground. As it lay there in stark contrast to it's surroundings I was struck that I was the only person on earth to witness that leaf's descent from the tree. There would never be another like it anywhere. No other leaf would fall the same way, have the same brilliant red, be dappled by the sun in the same place and none would ever touch the ground and settle in the same position as this. It seemed magical, I was there to witness the incredible event of a single leaf fluttering to the ground. It was then, as I stared at the red leaf, that I realized that life happens only in moments, sometimes so brief that you scarcely recognize them. It is recognizing these moments and holding on to them that gives meaning to my life. The day both of you were born are moments where my life unfolded and they are days I will never forget. This is what it means to live "in the moment", be present, recognize what is going on around you and never take it for granted.
Dad
Nicely written Grant, and very thoughtful to share with your sons this way - one day they will enjoy reading your thoughts and hopefully gain some useful wisdom about life.
ReplyDeleteI've always believed that our lives are characterised and shaped by what I call "defining moments". Life is full of decisions - we make them every day hundreds if not thousands of times a day. And most decisions are inconsequential - "should I have oats or bran for breakfast?" is not likely to have a big impact on your life... But every now and then comes a defining moment when you are faced with a decision which has the potential to drastically alter the course of your life. This is like standing at a fork in the road and deciding whether to go left or right - there is no wrong answer, but the decision you make will send you down a path in a particular direction from which there is often no return. Making the right choices in life often hinges on recognising that defining moment for what it is, and giving the matter careful consideration, for a decision made and acted upon cannot easily be undone.