Happy New Year everyone! I love the blogging world this time of year, as I’m a huge fan of recaps and reflective posts. One in particular made me pause: “A Quiet Walk on New Year’s Eve,” a post from one of my absolute favourite bloggers, Bottledworder.
She writes, “Suddenly it struck me how we think of our own lives as a collection of momentous memories. A collection of big events like in a badly written history book. Weddings, funerals, births, big moves, important accolades.
“The everyday disappears within those big memories just as life disappears condensed in a resume of it.”
Her words resonated with me. When I returned to Canada after my trip to Europe, my friends wanted to know the highlights, and I found myself mostly recalling the major places and events. “Florence was amazing! So beautiful!” But in truth, the highlights of that trip were the tiny details – the way I felt when the setting sun cast a warm glow over a sleepy Italian village, the way the breeze caressed my face as I sat on a bench in Rome and made a life-changing decision, the first sip of wine and a smile shared with a friend in Paris.
The details of our lives are often those things that are impossible to describe in words: the way we feel, the way we are moved, the way we react. The details are our daily interactions with people and the world. And these get lost in our larger stories.
As we move forward into 2014, let’s be mindful of the beautiful details that are at risk of being lost in the rapid pace of our lives. Breathe, enjoy.
Namaste 🙂
Rachel
Skating rink in London
Freelancing to Freedom 
Hey Rachel! Thanks for expressing something that is always rolling around in my head. As much as I reflect on and talk about life’s big events, I dearly hold those subtle ,meaningful moments close to my heart. Happy New Year!
By: gwendominica on January 2, 2014
at 3:52 pm
Happy New Year, Gwen! Thanks for reading. Here’s to a year full of little moments to hold close.
By: faultlessfinish on January 2, 2014
at 9:53 pm
Now that is the Rachel that lives within you, the one that smiles back in the mirror every day, every moment :)… Breathing, believing, being… Happy to be you in this New Year… WI:)ND
By: bawbsravenfeathers on January 2, 2014
at 4:57 pm
WI:)ND right back at you, BawB! Happy New Year!
By: faultlessfinish on January 2, 2014
at 9:54 pm
So true Rach. Unfortunately, the big moments are the ones everyone can relate to. Often, when we try to talk about those small, close-to-our hearts moments, they lose something in the translation, so we find it best to keep them to ourselves. I guess the important thing is for us not to lose those unspoken moments in the shuffle of life.
By: Janet on January 2, 2014
at 6:59 pm
Very true… When I really try to explain a personal moment, I often end up feeling a bit let-down. We just need to recognize these moments when they happen and remember them with gratitude.
By: faultlessfinish on January 2, 2014
at 9:57 pm
A really nice post, with a great message.
Jim
By: redjim99 on January 3, 2014
at 12:03 am
Thanks Jim 🙂
By: faultlessfinish on January 3, 2014
at 10:35 pm
Such a good thing to say. I do so agree. I remember many ‘big’ touristy moments, but with the passing years the memory of sitting at a street café in Italy with friends ranks as a memory as precious as any
By: Peter Wells aka Countingducks on January 9, 2014
at 12:57 pm