To cherish a moment is to understand that life is happening while we are busy planning the next chapter. We often imagine that happiness will come when something changes—when we accomplish the goal, heal the wound, find the right person, solve the problem, or finally arrive where we believe we are supposed to be. But some of the most meaningful parts of life are quietly unfolding in between those milestones.
Cherishing moments means learning to recognize the sacredness of the ordinary. It is looking at someone you love and realizing that this conversation, this embrace, this laugh, this shared meal, this morning together may one day become a memory you would give anything to experience again. It is allowing yourself to feel gratitude before something is gone rather than only after you have lost it.
It also means releasing the illusion that we must have a perfect life to experience profound joy. A meaningful life is not necessarily a life without pain; it is a life in which we remain capable of noticing beauty despite the pain. We can grieve and still laugh. We can be healing and still celebrate. We can have unanswered questions and still be grateful for today.
Perhaps the deepest form of cherishing is this:
Stop rushing through the life you once prayed for.
The person sitting beside you.
The voice on the other end of the phone.
The laughter in the room.
The sunrise you almost missed.
The hand that reaches for yours.
The quiet moment when your heart finally feels at peace.
These are not insignificant pieces of life.
They are life.
And one day, we may realize that what we were searching for wasn’t waiting somewhere in the future.
It was already sitting quietly inside the moments we were too busy to notice.
Kathie Mathis, Psy.D
Dr. Kathie Mathis, Psy.D, DD, NCP#00775, CAMS-V, CBIF, CDVC, CDAC, CSOC, CCAC, CCAI, CLC, CSTC, CSAC, CPI;