Track 4 – It’s all about the details

I love details. Maybe its because I’m very visual. I can recall things by picturing them in my mind. I wouldn’t say I have photographic memory but I definitely use a lesser-developed similar skill to record things to memory and also to rate things. For example, I love Disney because every detail is attended to. Hotels are themed. Parks are immaculately landscaped and clean. I even admire the paint jobs on the woodwork and accent pieces. My pleasure taking of small things spills over into all aspects of my life. I love the way the wind blows the hair back off a pretty girl’s face as she swings in the flat light of the evening sun. It amuses me the way the propellers of an EMB120 vibrate the cabin and turn your seat into a massage chair. I think you get it. It is the often over looked details that make life worth living.

I am a happy person. I wake up on the right side of the bed every morning and I attribute a lot of my love for life to appreciating small moments and taking advantage of every opportunity I get. I make it point to appreciate each second I’m given. Does that mean that I don’t waste more than I should? Of course but I also think I live life to the fullest more than most. It is one of the reasons I have taken to my job so much. I am given the chance to visit countless cities. Some are more exciting than others I can honestly admit but everywhere has unique qualities. It becomes a game. Find something interesting, fun, or notable at each stop. Some are easy and others are more difficult than seeing the hidden picture in those Magic Eye 3D pictures.

Let’s go through some of them. In the upper mid-west, they speak with passive language and negative undertones. Here is a simple example. I ask hundreds of people a week, “How are you doing?” What I noticed in Wisconsin is that surprising amounts of people speak backwards. Instead of answering the question with “I’m well or I’m doing great,” they answer with, “Not bad,” as if bad is the norm. That’s just one example but it happens a lot, don’tcha know? In the South, I enjoy how they aren’t scared to slow life down. Shoving as much as they can into each day isn’t their most important priority. Southerners love conversation, family, and NASCAR. Talk about patience. I mean all you are really watching for and waiting to have happen are the crashes. If there aren’t any cars flying through the air and landing on the roof, it’s a pretty boring sporting event, though I admit I watch an astonishing amount of auto racing.

In each town, I go out and explore it. Even if I only have about a half hour I like to drive around the area looking at the downtown and surrounding neighbor hoods. Calgary reminds me a lot of Denver. Greenville, SC has a jewel of a downtown with a tree lined main street and a park with a beautiful waterfall on the Reedy river. Central PA the public is skeptical and cautious from years of blue-collar labor. They appreciate a dollar. It’s not easy come easy go. As you see, I like to learn areas and cultures. It makes my job interesting and each week a new adventure.

So, this is what I’m saying, you always have choices in life. You can focus on what could go wrong or the stresses in your life. You could complain and say your life is boring and uneventful. Just as easily you could do what I try to do and appreciate the details. Moment by moment enjoy it. Just a fleeting second if seen with a grateful observant eye can tint the whole day a brighter color. I don’t want you to be so focused on the destination that you miss the wayside.