Let's Savor the Sunshine

The past few months have been hard. Uncertain, unsettling, confusing, and sometimes frightening. But they have also forced us to slow down and to take stock. To begin to realize what’s important and to have the time and space to begin to prioritize those priorities. We are walking more. We are talking more. We are cooking more.  

This month, as we begin to emerge back into regular life, let’s savor more.

Savor. Defined as “enjoy completely” “relish” “appreciate fully.”

Enjoy completely. Relish. Appreciate fully.

In the old days -- the days before the virus, before quarantine and before we added the words “essential workers” and “social distancing” to our vocabularies -- most of us were running through our lives at full speed. We were so busy. We had beautiful opportunities available to us. We could sit shoulder to shoulder with a dear friend at a local coffee shop enjoy a leisurely cup of coffee while listening, really listening. We could go to the movies and taste every kernel of popcorn. We could walk with the people we love and travel to places we always longed to visit. We could check on our neighbors and we could notice the birdsong as spring bloomed.

But did we?

Usually not. Usually, we charged through our lives at lightning speed, moving from one task to the next, knocking things off the list. And when we stopped running, we often found ourselves sacrificing hours to social media.

When was the last time you stopped to savor the moments of your life?

The sounds of the birds in the morning?

The taste of a summer strawberry?

The sound of a loved one’s voice?

The laughter of children?

The luxury of a full refrigerator?

The sound of the rain?

The feel of the sun on your shoulders?

This month, we invite you -- scratch that -- we encourage you, implore you, beg you -- to savor the spectacular little moments of your life. Embrace a slower pace, lift your chin and gaze up and savor the sunshine.