Ordinary Moments: July 19 - 25

Sometimes I think of life as a strring of pearls, each moment a small, white, luminous globe. The past, made up of countless beads, representing the days and minutes that have already passed through my fingers. There are too many to remember. Yet each has brought me to this moment. Somehow, the pearl I hold today radiates with the beauty of all of them. I can only ever hold one pearl at a time, never to be held again. Every ordinary moment, a priceless gift.

Practice

I like to do this practice at the end of the day. I imagine the day as a string of pearls. I trace back through the day in my memory, one pearl at a time, recalling the individual activities strung together since I got out of bed that morning. I reflect on what I did, the best moments, and the hardest moments. I recall when others touched my heart. Maybe I count my blessings. This examination of the day generally helps me to live more mindfully the next day.

Frequently, I come back to these words by Ralph Waldo Emerson.

“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.”