Honouring the experiences we get to have.
I was walking around the Iwo Jima Memorial Park yesterday morning.
It was a hive of activity as workers set about tearing down and clearing away the remnants of the marathon that took place the day prior.
At one point,
As I rounded the famous statue,
I noticed a young man walking with his parents.
I decided that they must be out-of-towners who'd come to DC for the marathon.
I came to this conclusion because the young lad in question was sporting a big,
Shiny medal around his neck.
My initial thought was one I'm not proud of.
I thought,
Wow,
Proud much?
Showing off your blingy medal?
Almost instantly,
I backtracked and thought,
You know what?
Actually,
Well done.
Good for you.
Wear that medal with pride.
You clearly earned it.
You're proud of it.
And you should honour your achievement by wearing it.
I continued walking,
Returning to my own thoughts,
When another person caught my attention.
This time,
An older gentleman with a bronze medal around his neck.
I went straight to mentally congratulating him,
And watched with a smile as he headed towards the statue.
Onwards I went,
And as I neared a half-circumnavigation of the memorial,
My eyes were once again drawn to a shiny gold object,
This time hanging round the neck of a young woman.
Whoa,
I thought.
Okay,
I'm paying attention.
These people did not appear to know each other,
Having emerged from different locations,
And having no interaction as far as I could tell.
Their only connection was each having a medal around their neck,
And taking a moment to grab a photo in front of the Marine Corps Memorial.
It got me thinking about how I react to my own achievements.
Specifically,
Not taking the time to honour them,
But instead,
Quickly moving on to the next thing.
I realised in that moment how destructive this behaviour is.
Not only does allowing an achievement to go unacknowledged diminish its value,
It robs us of the opportunity to integrate the change it affects in us.
Our experiences change us,
No matter how minor or significant they might be.
They can change how we perceive ourselves,
Our belief about our abilities,
Or our belief about the world around us.
Over time,
The layering of these changes leads to our personal evolution,
Until one day,
If we're paying attention,
We'll look back and recognise how much we've grown from who we once were.
If,
However,
We're constantly moving on from one milestone to another without pausing to honour the experience,
Achievement,
Or change,
We may risk taking these growth points for granted,
Or worse,
Not recognising when new opportunities for change and growth cross our path in the future.
Earlier this year,
My husband and I had an experience which would blow the mind of my younger self,
Even just three short years ago.
This particular adventure could seem more fitting to a young person on their gap year seeking to find themself.
But for the two of us currently navigating the midlife season of life,
This was an incredible memory that we'll cherish for the rest of our lives.
We got the opportunity to road trip across America.
For some,
This may not be a big deal.
In fact,
For many people,
This may be such a commonplace experience that it could appear inconsequential.
Since I returned from this trip,
This line of thought actually prevented me from honouring our experiences with the celebration it deserves.
As someone who grew up in a third world or developing country,
The idea of driving across the USA was always a lofty,
Unreachable,
Nice idea.
It seemed such an out of reach desire that I never once put in place a plan to make it a reality.
I didn't believe it would ever be possible.
Fast forward to a conversation I had with a friend who moved to San Francisco 18 months before we moved to the DC area.
I was actually sitting in the same Iwo Jima park looking into the distance at the Washington Monument,
Still processing the fact that we were actually living here,
When my friend put it out there over the phone that she and her family were planning to fly back to South Africa for a holiday to see family over the summer,
And they were in search of someone to look after their dog.
Knowing that we had extensive experience pet sitting,
She inquired whether it would be something we might consider.
At first,
I hesitated,
Because it would be a significant commitment of time,
And I wasn't sure whether my husband's work schedule would allow.
Long story short,
The stars aligned and we said yes.
Not only did we commit to looking after their dog in their home in San Francisco,
But we also decided that we'd drive across the country to get there.
A literal impossible dream come true.
Once it was decided and confirmed,
I put together a cursory itinerary.
This felt like an impossible task for the most part,
Because we didn't know what we didn't know,
And the options regarding route and sites was overwhelming.
So,
For the most part,
We decided to leave it to chance and make up the route as we went along.
We've since returned from that trip,
And to bolster our memories of this incredible experience,
We have so many photos,
And the most incredible videos to look back and relive this experience.
Every time I go through our photos and videos,
I still can't quite believe that these are ours.
This was our experience,
And it can never be taken away from us.
Capturing these photos and videos feels like a way to honor this experience.
It took an incredibly long time to edit the videos from this trip,
Literally,
Months.
But I'm so glad that I did,
Even when it got frustrating,
Even when I ran out of hard drive space,
Even when my computer kept crashing for unknown reasons,
I'm so glad that I stuck with it.
Capturing these photos and editing these videos feels like a way to honor this experience.
I came back from this cross-country road trip a changed person.
Not only have I seen some of the most incredible landscapes in the USA,
I also feel more brave about getting out my comfort zone and saying yes to new experiences.
I feel more confident in my ability to navigate big,
Overwhelming projects.
I have a deeper trust in the unknown and a deeper appreciation for spontaneity.
I believe in impossible dreams coming to fruition.
I feel closer to my husband having survived 13-day road trips in the car together.
So,
I'd like to invite you to honor your own memories,
Experiences,
And achievements in a meaningful way,
Because I guarantee you,
You've changed because of them.
And the universe will send you more opportunities for growth if you do.
Until next time.
