Every once in a while, a reminder of something you need to hear will convict you in places you never expect.
Like at a Taylor Swift concert.
I’m 31, and I still attend Taylor Swift concerts. I have never missed a show when she’s been in town, and I won’t be starting now. As usual, her show on Saturday night was genius. The crowd sang along, danced along, and for two hours forgot about the world outside and simply lived in the moment alongside everyone else.
If you’ve ever been to a Taylor Swift concert, then you know she interacts with the crowd quite a bit. She gave a few motivational bits of advice, including “What’s even better than being cool is being happy.” I’ve never really been “cool,” so I appreciated that one. But it was something else she said that resonated with me even more. Right before she played an incredible medley of “Enchanted” and “Wildest Dreams,” she talked about remembering moments and finding happiness in moments when you’re in them and letting them be everything you imagined they would be.
And it hit me hard how much I don’t do that.
Life is busy—I know this; you know this; we all know this. But we should never be too busy to enjoy the moments we have. After all, we only get each moment once before it’s gone forever.
I can think of too many instances in which I’ve been present but not fully present. My mind starts thinking about all of the tasks I need to complete or something that’s causing me stress in some way, and I fail to truly enjoy what’s right in front of me. Just last week, I was hanging out with a friend and suddenly started thinking about how much laundry I needed to do. I wasn’t even anywhere near my washing machine, and it took away from me genuinely enjoying the precious time I was given. Friends don’t deserve laundry thoughts—they deserve fully shared moments.
I’ll never forget the moment of my first kiss. It was as if the world around me didn’t exist. I didn’t think of anything except for everything that was happening in that exact moment. That moment mattered, and I let myself enjoy every single thing about it. And now it’s a moment I will never forget.
Why can’t we let more moments be as special as a first kiss?
I know that not all moments are good. In fact, some moments we want to escape as quickly as possible. But many moments are meant to be appreciated. I realize it’s trite to say that “everything happens for a reason,” but there are quite a few overused expressions that are so common for a reason. I believe everything has a purpose for happening, and that includes both the good and the bad. While we may not necessarily enjoy the not-so-pleasant moments, we can’t simply run from them. We might not appreciate them until later, but we still need to be present in them when they happen.
They make the happy moments seem even that much more precious and enjoyable.
I have a sign in my room that says, “It’s the little moments that make life big.” As much as I believe that, I don’t think I always live it out. I want to be more diligent about enjoying the moments I’m given—after all, I will never get them back. It’s nice to forget about the things around you and simply lose yourself in the moment. Every moment matters.
Because you never know what moment could change your life forever.
This is beautiful!