These are the days

My heavy eyelids cracked open against the hazy light pouring in the dusty windowpane. Warmly tucked inside the old blankets of the 10 by 15 ft mildew smelling room, nothing but a thick aura of exhaustion registered in my head. I temporarily forgot where I was, my memory reassembling the last 24hrs as I watched the silhouette of a large spider twirl as he repelled down a bookcase. London. I remembered my host Mia’s elegant accent, hipster clothing, and voluminous curly hair.



I was couch surfing in a small flat in the London neighborhood of Islington, all my clothing supplies neatly stowed in the backpack at my feet and fully clothed in yesterday’s outfit. Let’s just say I’ve experienced many better and beautifully boring mornings. Shell shocked by such a dramatic change in environment, culture, and living conditions, it seemed impossible to comprehend that I had been in Jerusalem only 48 short hrs before.

 

There are a few, rare moments in life where we are consciously aware that our immediate circumstances, our current phase, is a prominent and defining chapter in the volume that chronicles our time in mortality. In the LDS Church, many wise husbands and fathers describe their two-year missions as such a defining experience. Weddings and the arrivals of children are also commonly referenced. Defining experiences can be anything from an intense competition to an eye-opening international experience.



If there is one phrase I could repeatedly use to describe my summer and its meaning in my life, I would say “these are the days”. These are the days where I realized that I would forever see a passage of scripture in a new spiritual and physical light. These are the stereotype shattering days where I was serenaded by Gregorian chant, befriended by kind Muslims, and a witness to political injustice. These are the days where I made life-long connections that will forever impact who I am and desire to become.

 

These are the days….I know they have and will alter the course of my life.

 

Within the past week, I have knelt in a train car bathroom due to an unexpected emergency, attended Evensong in St. Paul’s and befriended a priest, observed an Olympic match, and strained my neck due to my utter fascination at Michelangelo’s masterpiece in the Sistine Chapel.

 

What does one say when presented with the overwhelming richness of so many wonders?

 

These are the days.



I’m realizing that I need to have this perspective more often in my life. I need to have my eyes and ears wide open, my energy high, and my heart grateful and receptive to what truth can be taught to me. High school, College-life, and difficult young parenthood are “the days” that only inhabit a small portion of our lives. I want to wring every drop out of the rich sponge that is my current phase and paint the town with the vibrant colors of my experiences.

 

I want to fill my “unforgiving minute with 60 seconds worth of distance run” for the rest of my life as Rudyard Kipling’s IF so profoundly encourages.

 

I don’t need a light show at the Eiffel tower, a sunset in Jerusalem, or a bell tone in London to close my eyes, internally crouch ready and eager to learn and experience, and say “these….these are the days”.

 

Enjoy today.