I was stumbling today when I found a quote that read “the best things in life aren’t things”. I instantly thought of how true the statement was, since as I see it the best things in life are moments. Moments we spend with family, friends, and even strangers. So why do we focus so adamantly on obtaining “things”?

As a society we strive to have the best house on the block, drive the finest car, or show off our newest purchases. Yet year after year these items fade, get older, and stop being exciting to show off. So what do we do? We get more things to show off. It seems like such a silly practice when in the long run we hardly remember our loved ones for what they owned. We remember the times we spent with them and how happy we were when we were with them. We remember the moments.

Yet here I sit writing this thinking about how infrequently I invite others over because my lawn is all weeds, or because the furniture is worn and the pool is missing tiles. I certainly do not want to be remembered for the car I drove, nor for having the biggest television set, but for being friendly, and willing to adapt. Don’t most people want the same? We hear this message in sermons, in music and find it spliced into movie scripts. It really shouldn’t take much thought to put into practice, but it simply does not come naturally for most. When you think about it, it takes far less effort to put experiences before objects.  So the challenge for myself and for you is to stop being concerned with surroundings and things, but to live for the moment.