TODAY THE WORDS are LITTLE MOMENTS BIG MEMORIES

TODAY THE WORDS are LITTLE MOMENTS, BIG MEMORIES. In my lifetime, as well as most of you reading this message, I have experienced some of the most precious times when they may not have been planned. The big occasions, marked in tradition, are mostly photographed, memoirs stored away, and it is obviously meant to be remembered by all participants and witnesses to such events. Those are not the ones I have focused on lately but are are the forefront of my mind. Sometimes, it is those small, unplanned, on the spot happenings which cause some of the largest memories.

Let’s think about it. With social media flourishing, a lot of posts or twitters seem to have a nostalgic photo with a caption, “Do you remember this or If you know what this is, please click Like.” We smile when we are the generation which used this seemingly extinct items and we rapidly click Like as if it means a membership in a special reminiscing club. We start remembering the hula hoop contests, the manual can opener, the old hair dryers, etc. Is that what we are remembering or is it the memory of using those things a certain way which conjures up the smile? If you need a nudge, if a theme to a television show is played; how quickly does the cast of the show pop in your head?

In more simpler times, we gave more credence to events of minute nature. The times when we played in the yards with neighborhood friends; the talks around the dinner table with family; the visits to our relatives’ homes; the walks to school with our chums; the vacations we took and the biggest event was to go swimming in the pond or put our feet in the sands at the beach; or to watch syrup being made when it was too cold to be outside but we were there anyway. 

It is easy to capture those calendar moments when we gather together at Christmas, Easter, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving or weddings and even funerals. I realize how important these occasions are and I am not meaning to take away from their special memories. But from a person who has lived life; life presents some of the most memorable times in unexpected, “small” ways. A child hugging you; a funny accident; a throw back day of pulling out the scrapbook (I know we are all scanning on to a computer now but it is still a scrapbook anyway); plans that go awry only to discover a new adventure; a run in with an old friend and memories of times which occurred years ago; etc. I am sure memories of these times run through your mind as they run through mine.

 Now for the deeper thought…..It is sometimes the smallest event when it is happening which results in the biggest memory later in life. Cherish each minute and time in your life as if it is a special time. God is blessing us even when we are not aware at that moment of the blessing we are receiving. Many dear friends have met during one of the “small” moments in our lives and that friendship grows bigger as time goes by. Live life; Love life; and Live life to the fullest by filling it up with little moments which make big memories.