Quick! Are you able to remember the highlight of your last birthday? Can you remember who was with you until the end of that day of celebration? Humans have a lot of experiences; some are average, some are special and some you will want to forget almost immediately. Not everyday can be a celebration. These are words that are a basis for this very website. But many more moments of our lives can be something special. A lot of the decision to elevate life comes down to the current moment being thought of as worthy. In the long run of life, there are many moments that could have been more special if a little magic had been sprinkled on top or if we had just decided that they were more important.
Practicality is often the decision to not lift up life. Just like a student with a neon marker, what to highlight while studying requires really reading the source. It takes time and effort to mark something special. There isn’t always enough energy to make that effort. We try to reserve our resources so that there is plenty to use when a special day is expected. We convince ourselves that special days deserve prominence and the rest of the days don’t have to be elevated. It might even be considered a waste to do so. The thought is that we would wear ourselves out creating super moments and the possibility that the really deserving moments might not get their due. It’s a thought; maybe so, maybe not. We haven’t worn ourselves out attempting it yet.
A good compromise is to remember that many days have highlights and endings that get remembered well. It is great to remember the highpoints; the epitome of enjoyment does not get lost. The endings are good to remember because they provide a summary to the experience. It is possible that just focusing on the highpoints and the endings of our days will give us a great system to discover more in previously forgettable life events. In reality, keeping track of just those two parts will provide memories of gratitude, appreciation, love, certainty and the joy of life. Not bad points. Maybe that is all we need.
Try a new practice. Look for the highpoint every day and immediately name it out loud so you have a better chance to remember it. It may change and be updated if something better happens. That is not a bad thing. As you lay your head down on your pillow, scroll through your memories of the day. How you feel at that very moment thinking about the summary of your day will reinforce how you frame it. It might be exciting to be able to remember more highpoints in our lives. It will be more exciting to find the rays of sunshine that poked their way into all we accomplish. Your daily memories will certainly include the parts that didn’t go well. But they might not be the whole focus from now on.
What is the highlight of your day today? Can you identify the thought that made it so? Can you use the ending of the day to search through all the usual minutes in a day to sum it up?
