"History never looks like history when you are living through it"
Well well everyone... Look where we are. Look what we have done... Look down at the seat you are sitting in, or the bed you are lying sideways in, or at the concrete you are standing on while waiting for the train. Look, then close your eyes and take a moment to reflect. Remember that moment because it is a historical time for us all.
Oh yeah, and how cool is it that Tuesday, we're inaugurating the country's first black president?
That is pretty amazing, and I couldn't possibly be more excited, but I'll get back to that in a second. Back to the "historical time for us all".
So we all go through our daily lives of repeating same or similar routines. Hear alarm, hit snooze button (repeat numerous times if you'd like), brew coffee, get shower, drink coffee, dress, walk to transportation, exit transportation, work (it's own book of routines) eat, leave work, eat, find a way to (hopefully) entertain ourselves for a few hours, sleep, start from step one. We do this for days on end until those days accumulate to years, and those days and years author the story of our life.
The routine of our lives can tend to water us all down a bit. From the cubicle to the home office, the computer monitor, to the assembly line, the paperwork, the the 20 minute hamster run on a treadmill. Life in our modern world tends to be a bit more organized, streamlined and efficient (three words that go together like long lines and the DMV), and an obvious result is that it becomes harder and harder for us to maintain a taste for the excitements of life.
Life offers us up so many little historical moments, and the shame of he busy world we live in, is that it becomes harder to catch them. I mean, how do you catch one of these little moments when you've got 15 minutes to walk from work to the gym, and at some point, stop to pick up your prescriptions at the pharmacy.
Think of these little moments I'm talking about like little seeds that can be planted and turn into a garden of food, or a giant redwood tree. Meeting someone for example; Happens every day of our lives. I live in a big city and I probably walk right past 200 different people every single day. When you cross paths with someone, that's an opportunity for a 1 out of 6.5 billion type of experience. That person will offer you an experience that no one else on this planet can offer you. If you take advantage of that meeting and that person changes your life, you should look back to that moment that the two of you met and realize how historical it is. That moment changed your life, and changed the world we live in in one way or another. We tend to get lost in the big and small. We tend to lend more admiration to the big moments and forget the smaller ones, or at least, let ourselves believe that small moments don't affect the big picture as much as the big moments. Are the big moments in history not just a collection of a number of smaller moments?
I want to share with you, the moment that inspired this blog. I met a man named Walt the other day. Walt was on the corner with a weathered cardboard sign asking for change. I passed by and decided to buy him some food. It wasn't much; a sub from 7/11, a bottle of orange juice, an apple, and a granola bar. I brought him the food, he thanked me, we smiled at one another, I patted him on the back and told him to try and stay warm, and he said to me "god bless you young man". It was 5 degrees outside, the world's economy is collapsing around us, and we're about to be finished with a president that has created a larger homeless population that this country has ever seen. I had a coat on, I have a job that pays me well, and I have a roof over my head, but how often do I remind myself of this? It was skin burning cold outside and Walt's smile inspired me. I went home on the train and instead of going out and getting drunk, or sitting on the couch watching TV or a movie, I sat in front of the computer and started developing a business plan. There's a good chance I may never see Walt again, but I feel like our 2 minute meeting was pretty important to my life. I had just been through what I talked about earlier. Woke up, showered, took the train, clocked in, worked a pretty routine Friday night, and I was on my way to a brainless practice of winding down to some TV till I passed out on the couch, then Saturday, I would've started it all over. Instead, I shared two minutes of life with Walt and he helped me realize that I needed to make the best of my night. If my little business plan takes hold, who knows, maybe it was Walt that made it happen... Who's to say that had I not came home and started working on it that night, that it would have ever happened?
So speaking of historical moments, this Tuesday, we're going to all share in one of the greatest moments in American history. When you were voting on November 4th, and you had that ballot in front of you, were you letting yourself realize that it was a historic moment in your life that made for this bigger moment we're all getting to experience together? You could have just went on your merry way and continued with your daily routine, but instead, you had the opportunity to do something that you felt would have an affect on things and you did it... and it did affect things. YOU stood there waiting for hours, YOU stamped that ballot, and if YOU didn't, Tuesday would be a different day. I'd be looking for ways to gain citizenship in Australia, German, Canada, Argentina, or just be trying to create a real life place like in "the Beach".
We should all enjoy the days ahead and realize how amazing it is that we're alive to experience it, but I hope we can all also let it be a reminder to us that the historic moments in each and every one of our lives are ultimately, in the grand scheme of things, just as important. The man we have elected to lead our country has a history that has made him who he is and the decisions he made during his own historic moments will undoubtedly change the world we live in.
This is no different for any of us... so go make history.
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