There’s nothing quite like a life-altering experience that makes you stop and realize just how good you have it. It’s kind of like how you don’t really think about how great it feels to not have blocked sinuses or a sore throat until you catch a nasty upper respiratory infection. You just get on with your day, not appreciating clear airways and how great freshly baked bread smells.
The things listed here bring real attention to what is worth appreciating in the here and now, rather than in retrospect, several decades from today. Are you giving them the attention they deserve?
1. Moving and using your body as best you can.
This one may seem trite, but people generally don’t realize how much they are taking their bodies for granted until they’re no longer able to move freely or use their bodies the same way they used to.
I’ve experienced this firsthand after severe injury, and witnessed my grandfather’s frustration when his strength and capability — honed by years of military service and physical farm labor — started to fail him.
Honor and use your body in the ways that serve you best, as often as possible. Stretch so your muscles and joints remain limber. Do strength training to remain capable and mobile. Spend time doing the pursuits you enjoy, while you can. Know that you’ll miss doing all of these things terribly if you suddenly aren’t able to do them anymore.
2. Enjoying a wide range of tasty meals.
Did you know that your sense of taste and smell start to wane in late middle age? Your taste buds shrink and reduce in number, limiting the amount of flavors you’re able to process, so the foods you eat seem increasingly more bland.
If you don’t enjoy a wide range of different flavors while you still can, you’ll slowly lose the ability to do so. You could travel to Italy one day and sit down to try what is heralded as the most amazing gelato in the entire world, and for all you know, you could be munching on chilled mashed potato because you simply can’t taste it anymore.
3. Using the “good stuff” you save for special occasions.
Have you ever cleaned out someone’s home after they died unexpectedly? If you have, you’ve likely found a lot of fancy items that they set aside to use “someday,” when the occasion arose to do so, but someday never came. Fancy clothes, expensive wine or chocolate, beautiful household items still in their boxes, never used. I’ve lost close friends as well as family members, and it’s been heartbreaking to see all the special things they set aside to use for a special occasion that never actually came to pass.
You undoubtedly have countless wonderful things that you rarely use or enjoy. Recognize that you’re an incredible person who is worthy of eating the good chocolate or wearing the expensive clothes on a regular Wednesday afternoon, for no other reason than because you’re alive, and you can.
4. Spending time outside your home.
During lockdown, many people reported feeling depressed and anxious at their inability to leave their homes. They felt trapped, caged, confined. They were able to see the world outdoors and the beautiful weather out there, but they couldn’t go there. In fact, most people don’t appreciate how sacred it is to move around freely until they no longer have the ability to do so.
More individuals work from home now than ever before, and many don’t leave the house except to run errands. They look out the windows, of course, content with the fact that they could always take a walk out there if they wanted to. Until they can’t.
So go for walks, take road trips, have weekend getaways, go camping. Take full advantage of this capability and get out there so you can live a little beyond the confines of your own four walls.
5. Basking in wondrous media.
Listen to a wide range of music, watch films from different countries, read a variety of genres, and admire art before your senses become distant memories. We truly don’t know what we’ve got until it’s gone, and our senses are incredible treasures that allow us to enjoy so many different forms of beauty throughout our lives, though they all dim eventually.
Some people have visual or hearing impairments from an early age, while others develop them over time. Ultimately, all of us are going to end up with limited sensory perception eventually, which is why it’s so important to enjoy what we can, while we can.
6. Spending time with your pets.
One of the most poignant things I ever read was that pets are an important part of our lives, but we are their entire world. After all, we have a ton of interests and hobbies we do on the regular, but our animal companions only have us. Furthermore, most of them only live for 10 to 15 years, if we’re lucky, so we really don’t have that much time with them in the grand scheme of our lives.
Take every opportunity to spend real quality time with your pets while they’re around. Whatever you’re doing at the time may seem important to you, but listen: unless you’re at risk of losing your job or burning the house down, you can spare a few minutes to show your friend just how important they are to you.
7. Trying out different crafts and art forms.
After my partner had a stroke, it took several months for her to regain full function in her left hand. She’s always been an avid fiber artist, and she was devastated at the thought that she might never be able to knit again. I remember her telling me how much she took her capability and ambidexterity for granted until she was suddenly unable to use both hands, how she would knit without really thinking about it while watching TV.
Most of us do a lot of things on autopilot, sticking to the things we can do easily rather than broadening our scope or appreciating the many gifts we have. In fact, we may not realize just how much we adore doing different pursuits because we don’t actually try them out!
So start by doing hobbies that are adjacent to the ones you already enjoy so you can try them out. If they aren’t of interest, then try doing something that’s the polar opposite instead. For instance, if you’re big on knitting, try making chainmaille. Do you like to garden? Try preserving items in resin, and so on.
8. Recognizing the importance of those in your social circle.
Most of us de-prioritize people in our social circles when life starts to get a bit hairy. When we’re bogged down with work and various life responsibilities, or if we aren’t in the mood to socialize, we often withdraw and neglect those closest to us. As a result, we may not respond to texts for days (or weeks, or months) at a time, or we’ll flake out on social invitations that we don’t feel like honoring.
No one is an island, however, and all of us rely on our social networks in various ways. This is never more apparent than in times of difficulty, when people band together to take care of each other as best they can. If there’s a storm or a flood, it’s friends and neighbors who help each other out, local farmers and shop owners who help out with supplies, and so on.
Put effort into keeping your social relationships alive, give as much as you receive, and allow others to help you when help is needed.
Final thoughts…
If you aren’t sure what aspects of your life you’d miss the most if they were to suddenly disappear, pare down your world to bare essentials for a few days. Take time away from electronics, entertainment, and internet connectivity, and only eat a few simple, bland foods while you’re at it. As you’re doing so, take note of the cravings you have, as they’ll let you know what to prioritize. It’s only during these times of quiet simplicity that what’s truly important to you can make itself known, in a very small voice, because you’ll actually be able to hear it.
