http://vimeo.com/8189067 Last week I had the opportunity to attend TEDx Greenville. My first TEDx. Nine hours of mental, spiritual and creative invigoration. Truth be told, I’m still feeling a little “TEDded up.”
They warned us that might happen.
While each presenter inspired with their stories and passion, it was writer and teacher Max Strom whose message really gave me pause to think.
<strong>“Upload a life of meaning, there is no app for happiness.”</strong> | Max Strom
How, exactly, does one upload a life of meaning? I believe the answer is found in our moments, not our minutes.
But what, exactly, is a moment? How do you differentiate between a moment and a minute?
A minute is 60 seconds.
Moments are born when we make the choice to be present in our lives.
A minute is the ticking of a clock, a passive passing of time.
A moment is shuffling through mail to find a real letter hidden amongst a stack of bills. It's the blissfully broken hush between a ringing doorbell and the sound of loved ones bursting through the door. It's blowing out birthday candles and lifting the lid of a Christmas gift. It's taking the route through the sprinkler on a hot summer day - not around it. It's the splash of a penny-shaped wish in a fountain. It's a Monopoly, Scrabble, Uno victory. It's watching jellyfish dance in water and a plastic grocery bag dance on a breeze. It’s losing, then finding, your keys. It’s a phone call waking you in the middle of the night. It's when the song you were just thinking about comes on the radio. It's driving with the windows down on the first really great day of spring. It’s a bouquet of yellow balloons in transit to a party. It's the smell of barbecue from a block away and bonfires after dark. It's the kid at the back of the school bus waving at traffic as it passes by. It's snowflakes at 2 a.m. falling so unexpectedly the weatherman didn't have time to spoil the surprise. It's a first dance and a 50th anniversary dance. It's a hummingbird there one minute, gone the next. It's "now you may kiss the bride." It's stepping off an airplane and into a hug. It's taking one really great deep breath. It's laughing until your sides hurt. It's crying until your heart no longer hurts. It’s every opportunity life presents us with to do, feel, live, see, be.
Max Strom’s words inspired me to reflect on the value of a moment - to think about what is truly lost when a moment is wasted, and what is gained when a moment is well spent.
<strong>What would happen if we all stopped worrying about time this week - and started caring about moments? What if we all made the choice to be present in our lives?</strong>
This week you have 10,080 opportunities to turn minutes into moments.
Happy Monday.
Originally posted on the Brains on Fire Blog