My husband and I recently moved from the northern tip of the country to the southern tip, along the East Coast. We were ready for a change, new opportunities, a slightly more welcoming climate, and the adventure of our first big move together. It didn’t take us long to realize that Florida is not the place for us, and we don’t want to stay here long term. Living here with the knowledge that this is but a season and we will be moving on in the future has given me a new appreciation for what I am surrounded with every day.
Just internalizing the fact that the warm waters of the southern tip of the North Atlantic won’t always be a 15 minute drive away has drawn me more often to the beach. Sometimes I struggle with the fact that certain things I’m used to buying are missing from the grocery store shelves here, replaced with things I’ve never seen before. Thinking to a future in which I might not live in such a culinarily diverse area has me reaching for new ingredients as I shop. The sun shining through the palm trees seems different, more special, when I remember that for someday I’m going back to a life in which I only see palm trees when the cast of my favorite TV shows go on holiday.
My new clarity and enthusiasm for my moment in Floridian Paradise has me sizing up other, equally temporary situations in life. I won’t always be this age, in this stage of life and relationships. Life is always in flux and there are things to enjoy and savor in every phase. The challenging times are a bit more manageable when I remind myself that things won’t always be like this. The mundane moments are an opportunity when I acknowledge that they are unique and they won’t come again. Potential is easier to seize when I know how fleeting it is.
I’ve struggled with building my business, but looking ahead I’m grateful that I have this time to figure out how to make it work. My husband and I aren’t newlyweds anymore, and it’s still just the two of us. Knowing that it won’t always be just us, 5 years into marriage, makes me appreciate where we are, still learning and growing closer. I know my friends won’t always live nearby so I am building more space for them in my life now, while I have them. Thinking about the transience of every moment has me trying to soak up as much goodness as I can from every one.
This mindset shift has been around since Biblical times as followers of God have been encouraged to think with a mindset of eternity and live in light of the impermanence of this life. Things here will always change. We grow, interact with others, change course, location and perspective. We have the opportunity to let this truth bring on depression and ennui, or eagerness and joie de vivre. I’ve really been enjoying the latter!
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