The Gift of Days

Posted byRebecca BuddPosted inThe Gift of DaysTags:

“It’s being here now that’s important. There’s no past and there’s no future. Time is a very misleading thing. All there is ever, is the now. We can gain experience from the past, but we can’t relive it; and we can hope for the future, but we don’t know if there is one.” 
George Harrison

Gift of Days

Last week’s series on Lord Nelson and Lady Hamilton reminded me of the days of our lives.  We are born, we live, love and create our narratives by our thoughts and by actions that reflect our personal hopes and dreams. Much of our days are filled with routine tasks, moments which are easily lost within the framework of those we consider extraordinary.

Looking back, we remember birthdays, anniversaries, weddings and holidays.  We rarely recall the commonplace day-to-day deeds that mark our existence.  And yet, I would argue that these are the times that create our cultural values.  They are the foundation on which we participate within our communities and ultimately leave a legacy for the future.

People have lived within the ordinary for centuries, yet their lives and contributions have been extraordinary.  We know this by those farsighted few who thought to record the specific circumstances and events.  How many others have been forever lost in history?  The combination of all of those seemingly humdrum occurrences are the legacies  from previous generations who lived in hope of a better future.

What happened in the past that was relevant to me today?  June 10th was a very active day.  In 1429, Joan of Arc’s army defeated the Earl of Suffolk and his forces. In 1610, the first Dutch settlers landed on Manhattan Island, while in 1837, the Versailles Palace became a national museum in France.  In 1935, W. Wilson and R. Smith established Alcoholics Anonymous in the United States and in 1940, Italy declared war on Britain and France.  Every one of these events impacted our “today.”

Over the next few weeks, I want to explore the gift of days.

“As if you could kill time without injuring eternity”
Henry David Thoreau

Special note:  For the next three weeks, I will be working on a special “work” project and may not respond to you in my usual time frame.  I value your comments and likes.  You continue to inspire and challenge me on the journey we call “life.”  You are remarkable.

Rebecca aka Clanmother

 

Published by Rebecca Budd

Blogger, Visual Storyteller, Podcaster, Traveler and Life-long Learner

49 thoughts on “The Gift of Days”

    1. I agree wholeheartedly.

      Here is a thought for you: I have often wondered if it is our personal definition of ordinary that influences our view of what we consider extraordinary. I smile at people who talk about the “ordinary” people as if they have limited capabilities. In my research and experience, it is the ordinary that have, with their thoughts and actions, transformed our world. I now consider myself ordinary, indeed.

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      1. The integrity and passion for yours is peerless.
        And I love your pick of subjects.
        I’m more worried about myself. Everything comes to an end for me. Life, book, a movie. Either I reinvent myself or pass…I enjoy my conversations with you and my apologies if I trouble you too much.

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      2. I love that word, “reinvent!” This past weekend I had coffee with my mother who is in her eighties. We were talking about that very same subject. It seems that resilience is built on our capacity to move forward into an unknown direction, adapting as we go along. My mother is reinventing her life after the passing of my father. I am reinventing myself now that I have left my career behind. What I feel most keenly in this process is the “ending” of what was, because it is no more. That is when I remind myself that we never live in a void. There is always a new adventure around the corner. I do so enjoy our conversations….

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      4. This is the quote that gave me strength: “Death is not extinguishing the light; it is only putting out the lamp because the dawn has come.”
        ― Rabindranath Tagore

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  3. My friend who was visiting introduced me to a wonderful resource we have online called Papers Past. We spent several hours looking through old newspaper reports relating to my family. They were humble people but the newspapers of the time gave short and delightful reports on their participation in Sunday School exams, weekly sports competitions, farewell parties etc. And so we were able to build up a collection of ordinary days in the life my ancestors. As you say, it was extraordinary.

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    1. I remember those small town papers. They were written, produced and circulated with such love. It really was a community event to read them over coffee at the local cafe. I was always excited to see my name mentioned when I would come home from university for the holidays. It was like the grand lady had returned from the big city. Looking back, they were the signature of our culture and society. Interestingly, I have found that these same values are be recreated within the blogging community! 🙂

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      1. Oh that is delightful that your return home for the holidays was mentioned. Communities cared and were interested. As you say, much like the blogging community.

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      2. I have noticed that since we live and work within a global community, we sometimes forget to celebrate those moments close to home. Hmmmm – you always give me good things to think about!!! 🙂

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    1. I am looking forward to this series – I have been considering it for a couple of months so have completed much of the research complete. I do love my job, but I am so enjoying my blogging experience. We really have amazing conversations, don’t we?

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      2. Thank you!! I will be adding more as I go along…

        I was uncertain as to my direction for blogging but am making progress. It is all about finding a voice.

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      4. Since leaving my finance career, I am now working in the educational field. I am so enjoying listening to the voices of our young people!!! We are leaving our world in good hands…

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    1. Neither did I until I did a little more research…:)
      From what I have read, George Harrison was involved in humanitarian and political activism throughout his life. Tragic that we lost him when he was only 58.

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    1. Oh I do like that thought – “We are filling our lives with history for our descendants.” You gave me goosebumps!! Let’s keep filling and enjoying the gift of our days…

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      1. 🙂 So what is your project about? hope it is a commercial one and profit oriented 🙂 . meanwhile I am still stuck on having nothing to post on my blog. Old photos ? Oh NO!…. those were only for my project, the family tree building. Keep in touch and give me more inspiring things as always. best wishes.

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      2. My dear friend!! You always make my day! I am amazed by your recuperative abilities. I would love to see your old photos. I have been thinking of creating a family tree and even purchased the software, but alas, I have not gone beyond my immediate family. The project I am working on has to do with education and research! Take care of yourself – so glad we are connected.

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      3. Umm…. Maybe some day I would show some of them since seeing old photos is so fun, isn’t it? as what you have written above “we can’t relive it”. I wish I could take my body back to when I was still teenager like in that pictures. I realized that is impossible – wrinkles on our faces now are also history. That is the history of our survival. Good luck in your project.

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  10. Great post Rebecca, you always make me stop and think about things. Living in the now, the moment, with the past as a guide.

    The past shapes us but should not mould us, we should always remember that we may not have remembered thing correctly.

    Getting to the point were you live for now and call on your very best to make the most of things 🙂

    Sometimes however you just need to rest and relax that’s very important also 🙂

    Good luck over the next weeks with your projects, 🙂

    Nigel

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    1. Thanks, Nigel. I agree wholeheartedly. We take care of the “urgent” and neglect the “important.” We become accustomed to being “crazy busy” when we need to look for quiet solitude. We hurry up to slow down, when all we need to do is breath. Thank you for adding to so much to the dialogue. I enjoy my work, but I also love the blogging conversations…

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    1. I love that – “alive moment.” Hope you don’t mind – I’m going to use that in a future post. What a great way to describe being present. Thanks so much for joining in…

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  14. I look forward to this Project Rebecca. The gift of days sounds very interesting, it’s a topic very close to most of us. Thumbs up! 🙂

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