Moments In Time
At the end of March Madness, CBS (and now TBS) sign off coverage with "One Shining Moment," a song originally written by David Barrett and sung by Luther Vandross, featuring a montage of moments and highlights from the tournament. The song (and montage) culminate with highlights from the championship game and celebration afterwards. The song describes the varying emotions that come from the tournament -- the hard work put in, the obstacles along the way, the highs of victory, the lows of defeat, and so on. When coupled with the montage showing the highlights and emotions from the tournament, it's a terrific way to close out the tournament and the college basketball season. Well, unless you're the runner-up in the national championship, but I digress (sorry, Texas Tech).
One thing that "One Shining Moment" captures so well is that a lot of our experiences only last for...a moment. In the past, I've talked about how we all go through different seasons in our lives. Moments, however, tend to be much shorter in time. The dictionary literally defines a moment as "a very brief period of time". Moments don't last long, but the memories and emotions from them can last a lifetime. That can mean happy moments like graduating, getting a job, moving, getting married, having children, and so on. That can also mean not-so-happy moments like failing, getting laid off, losing a loved one, and so on. In both instances, these are strong, emotional moments that are life-changing events. There are other moments that may not be as memorable or emotional, but happened nonetheless. And sometimes, when we look back on these moments, it will blow our mind that they ever happened.
Recently, while driving around town, it occurred to me how different getting around Houston is for me today versus two years ago. For about the first 6 months I was in Houston, my two primary ways of getting around town were walking and the bus system. I would walk to work, take a bus to the grocery store on Saturday mornings, and take two buses to church on Sunday mornings. I have been fortunate to have a car in Houston for a while now, but with that, I've often found myself forgetting how there was a time I depended on my two feet, a Q-Card, and occasionally taking an Uber or asking a friend for a ride.
Looking back on it now, it's truly a crazy to think that's the way things were at one point in time. Now, in the above example, that was a lengthier moment in time. That said, considering that I've lived in Houston for over 2 years now, 6 months starts to feel smaller in comparison. The further that we get from moments in time, the easier it is to forget that that's the way things once were. That's definitely been the case in the above instance.
Now that I'm nearly 2 and a half years removed from college, it blows my mind to look back on when I was a senior in high school and some of the schools that I applied to: Baylor, James Madison, Alabama, SMU, and Nebraska. While they made sense in the moment, It truly is amazing to look back on a moment in time where Nebraska and SMU were in the college running. It's one of those situations where I can't even begin to imagine how different my life would be if I had gone to one of those schools.
One the beauties (or worse things?) about Facebook is the way that it will show you photos or statuses that you posted on that same day years ago. It can be amusing to see what was on our mind at a given moment in time - we always have the benefit of hindsight though. With that, it is also amusing when I think back to places I've been at one point or another that seem so obscure now, like Wichita, Kansas or Tacoma, Washington. Moments like those don't last long -- but the memories of them endure.
Life is filled with events that make sense in the moment, but seem incomprehensible as time goes on. Speaking of colleges, there was the famous 2007 college football season (a great future blog topic), where Missouri was the #1 ranked team going into the final week of the regular seasons and schools like Kansas, Illinois, and Hawai'i ended up playing in major bowl games. Kurt Warner, former NFL MVP and Super Bowl-winning quarterback, went undrafted and at one point in his playing career was working at a grocery store in Iowa. If one were to look back at the most-watched shows in the 1990s, one would find that at one point, CBS' 60 Minutes held that distinction. Ariana Grande is one of the biggest names in the music industry today, but if one were to go back a few years ago, she was a part of Nickelodeon shows Victorious and later Sam and Cat. As one final (but by no means exhaustive) example, there was a time where it is said Blockbuster passed on the opportunity to purchase a DVD rental company Netflix. Blockbuster's legacy still does live on though - the company has one final location in Bend, Oregon.
There's a value with reminiscing. It's what makes reunions and catching up with friends fun- to look back on the good times with them and hear how they're doing these days. In some instances, those times may seem crazy now, but made sense in the moment. Then again, those are what make those moments all the more memorable. One of my favorite lasting moments from high school was right before my graduation. My friend and I were sitting next to one another in the auxiliary gym waiting to walk for the ceremony, so we started singing songs like "Build Me Up Buttercup" and Taylor Swift's "We are Never Getting Back Together". Looking back now, I still can't think of a better way to have closed out high school. Those are the moments in time you remember, times where you're just being yourself with a good friend.
With moments in time, it is easy to get lost in the moment and think that things will forever be this way. Because of that, sometimes when we are actually in these moments, we take them for granted. After all, this is the way things are right now - and presumably for the foreseeable future. However, the reality is that that's rarely the case. Life has a way of changing - and fast. Circumstances can change quickly - moving, changing jobs, getting married, and so on. With that in mind, it becomes all the more important that we enjoy each moment in time - the moment may not last forever, but the memories can - and will.
To close, I'm reminded by recent weddings I went to this past March - one was for a cousin, the other was for a good friend from college. Catching up and spending time with family or exploring Kentucky leading up to the weddings were fun in their own ways. Both weddings were lovely ceremonies and receptions filled with great times and great people. They were truly just wonderful moments in time celebrating wonderful people, and were reminders of the importance of living in the moment. Those moments in time only lasted for a weekend each, but I'll always remember them and look back fondly on them. Along life's way, we'll encounter all sorts of different moments in time - moments of joy, of sadness, and everything in between. Although there may not be a montage or Luther Vandross singing, don't forget to enjoy the one shining moments of life.
One thing that "One Shining Moment" captures so well is that a lot of our experiences only last for...a moment. In the past, I've talked about how we all go through different seasons in our lives. Moments, however, tend to be much shorter in time. The dictionary literally defines a moment as "a very brief period of time". Moments don't last long, but the memories and emotions from them can last a lifetime. That can mean happy moments like graduating, getting a job, moving, getting married, having children, and so on. That can also mean not-so-happy moments like failing, getting laid off, losing a loved one, and so on. In both instances, these are strong, emotional moments that are life-changing events. There are other moments that may not be as memorable or emotional, but happened nonetheless. And sometimes, when we look back on these moments, it will blow our mind that they ever happened.
Recently, while driving around town, it occurred to me how different getting around Houston is for me today versus two years ago. For about the first 6 months I was in Houston, my two primary ways of getting around town were walking and the bus system. I would walk to work, take a bus to the grocery store on Saturday mornings, and take two buses to church on Sunday mornings. I have been fortunate to have a car in Houston for a while now, but with that, I've often found myself forgetting how there was a time I depended on my two feet, a Q-Card, and occasionally taking an Uber or asking a friend for a ride.
Looking back on it now, it's truly a crazy to think that's the way things were at one point in time. Now, in the above example, that was a lengthier moment in time. That said, considering that I've lived in Houston for over 2 years now, 6 months starts to feel smaller in comparison. The further that we get from moments in time, the easier it is to forget that that's the way things once were. That's definitely been the case in the above instance.
Now that I'm nearly 2 and a half years removed from college, it blows my mind to look back on when I was a senior in high school and some of the schools that I applied to: Baylor, James Madison, Alabama, SMU, and Nebraska. While they made sense in the moment, It truly is amazing to look back on a moment in time where Nebraska and SMU were in the college running. It's one of those situations where I can't even begin to imagine how different my life would be if I had gone to one of those schools.
One the beauties (or worse things?) about Facebook is the way that it will show you photos or statuses that you posted on that same day years ago. It can be amusing to see what was on our mind at a given moment in time - we always have the benefit of hindsight though. With that, it is also amusing when I think back to places I've been at one point or another that seem so obscure now, like Wichita, Kansas or Tacoma, Washington. Moments like those don't last long -- but the memories of them endure.
Life is filled with events that make sense in the moment, but seem incomprehensible as time goes on. Speaking of colleges, there was the famous 2007 college football season (a great future blog topic), where Missouri was the #1 ranked team going into the final week of the regular seasons and schools like Kansas, Illinois, and Hawai'i ended up playing in major bowl games. Kurt Warner, former NFL MVP and Super Bowl-winning quarterback, went undrafted and at one point in his playing career was working at a grocery store in Iowa. If one were to look back at the most-watched shows in the 1990s, one would find that at one point, CBS' 60 Minutes held that distinction. Ariana Grande is one of the biggest names in the music industry today, but if one were to go back a few years ago, she was a part of Nickelodeon shows Victorious and later Sam and Cat. As one final (but by no means exhaustive) example, there was a time where it is said Blockbuster passed on the opportunity to purchase a DVD rental company Netflix. Blockbuster's legacy still does live on though - the company has one final location in Bend, Oregon.
There's a value with reminiscing. It's what makes reunions and catching up with friends fun- to look back on the good times with them and hear how they're doing these days. In some instances, those times may seem crazy now, but made sense in the moment. Then again, those are what make those moments all the more memorable. One of my favorite lasting moments from high school was right before my graduation. My friend and I were sitting next to one another in the auxiliary gym waiting to walk for the ceremony, so we started singing songs like "Build Me Up Buttercup" and Taylor Swift's "We are Never Getting Back Together". Looking back now, I still can't think of a better way to have closed out high school. Those are the moments in time you remember, times where you're just being yourself with a good friend.
With moments in time, it is easy to get lost in the moment and think that things will forever be this way. Because of that, sometimes when we are actually in these moments, we take them for granted. After all, this is the way things are right now - and presumably for the foreseeable future. However, the reality is that that's rarely the case. Life has a way of changing - and fast. Circumstances can change quickly - moving, changing jobs, getting married, and so on. With that in mind, it becomes all the more important that we enjoy each moment in time - the moment may not last forever, but the memories can - and will.
To close, I'm reminded by recent weddings I went to this past March - one was for a cousin, the other was for a good friend from college. Catching up and spending time with family or exploring Kentucky leading up to the weddings were fun in their own ways. Both weddings were lovely ceremonies and receptions filled with great times and great people. They were truly just wonderful moments in time celebrating wonderful people, and were reminders of the importance of living in the moment. Those moments in time only lasted for a weekend each, but I'll always remember them and look back fondly on them. Along life's way, we'll encounter all sorts of different moments in time - moments of joy, of sadness, and everything in between. Although there may not be a montage or Luther Vandross singing, don't forget to enjoy the one shining moments of life.
Comments
Post a Comment