The Importance of the Unexpected

Capturing moments that matter, especially in these strange, surreal pandemic days. Are you OPEN to the experience?

There are moments in my world that surprise, are completely unexpected and move me to the point of that moment being indelibly stamped in my memory. There are many (in fact, experiencing as many of these 'moments' as possible, is one of my life's goals.) Here are a couple of non-obvious examples:

1. Being presented a GF birthday cake on my 50th birthday on a tradition Turkish Gulet off the coast of Turkey. BAKED in the tiny galley. Surrounded by friends.

2. Walking onto the pitch at Old Trafford through the player's tunnel with loud crowd noise being piped in

3. Witnessing live, the only time that U2 & Noel Gallagher played "Don't Look Back in Anger" together with Connie's tears flowing down her face.

4. Watching the faces of the family who received the keys to the first Habitat For Humanity we helped fund. It still sends shivers when I think of that moment.

5. Randomly walking into the National gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh and LITERALLY having my breath taken away by a sculpture. Never before or never since has a physical piece of art had that impact on me. I actually had to sit down and just stare. I don't know what elicited that response, but to this day MANY years later, even the thought of that moment fills my soul. (Pictures of that sculpture available here: Campbell Sisters ).

It was only a while later that I learned that the name of the piece is "Campbell Sisters Dancing a Waltz." It was originally installed in the dining room at Inveraray Castle, the seat of the Duke of Argyll (our clan's ancestral home). Why my breath was taken away, even without knowing these facts, makes that moment even more memorable.

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Life can be filled with memorable moments if we become open to them. They are often not created, they just occur. They become emotion-based time-stamps on this journey of life. Remembering these emotion-based memories can also help your body re-experience the positive emotions built within that moment in time.

Even the writing of this post has put a huge smile on my face and a 'lightness' in my thinking.

Let yourself be open to experiencing - you just never know when the next memory moment may arise. And if you have already experienced some - sit quietly and re-live them today - it feels great.