Existential Psychology

Significance Is In The Eye Of The Beholder

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We were walking around the store gathering up some ingredients to cook dinner when the thought flashed across my consciousness that although I considered the experience rather mundane someone who had lost their loved one would give just about anything for these identical twenty minutes of grocery shopping if it meant spending the time with the person they had lost.

With that thought the whole situation took on a different texture. What I had been taking for granted suddenly became meaningful. Any moment has the potential to become a transcendent moment, significance is in the eye of the beholder. Small moments are big moments when we instill them with gratitude.

One of the fastest ways to cultivate gratitude and make those mundane moments transcendent moments is to recognize life’s transience and realize that the people you care about aren’t going to be around forever. Remember that the daily encounters you take for granted, taken together, represent the balance of your relationship with your loved one and countless people would give anything to have just one more dinner, or take just one more walk, or go shopping for groceries just one more time, if these activities were with the person they have lost.