Fleeting Moments

We often hear people talk about how fast each day goes by, so much so, that it has become a very popular small talk topic. Amidst our increasingly fast-paced world, have you stopped to look around and feel every individual beautiful moment with its unique touch, smell, taste, and sight?

Have you reflected on the atmosphere in the room when someone said a really good joke? How about those moments when you connected with someone, you were not particularly close to before? And those sweet moments of empathy from gems that offered to help you? In your busy life, you may forget about these fleeting occurrences and only when something conspicuously big happens in your life, you become joyful. The list of things that might seem ordinary to you is what you need to feel joyful about, too.

Najwa Zebian gives a beautiful description of those who spread acts of kindness in her book titled Mind Platter, “People will not remember the details of what your face looks like, yet you worry the most about that. They do remember your smile. The look in your eyes while they were talking to you. The way you made them feel. How gentle you were. The comfort your words gave them and the understanding you were willing to offer. How you went out of your way to make them happy. Your kindness, your compassion, and your respectfulness. The most beautiful of faces may have the ugliest of hearts, and if that’s what you’re looking for, that’s what you will get. But if you have a beautiful heart, your beauty will shine on peoples’ hearts. Whether they see it or not depends on what they’re looking for.”

Unfortunately, for some people, the tranquil moments of happiness are limited by those who make careless decisions and speak hateful words that impact them negatively, seeing them as mere numbers or simply bodies. It is not enough to feel grateful for the moments and things you have if you want to show true gratitude. Instead, if you want to start a ripple effect of gratitude in yourself and your contemporaries, you should empower others. You could do this by taking a strong stance against bullying, giving a helping hand, and emotional support. Use your power to help people swim themselves out of the lake of hopelessness, into the river of hope, so they can swim into the ocean of gratitude.