Leigh Harris MS, LPC, NCC, CCTP • Contact Leigh
relatecounseling.com • @relatecounsel
Always take a minute to sit at the top of a mountain and appreciate where you are, who you’re with, the absurdity of this life. Take joy in it all.” — Richard Moore
The New York Times Morning recently asked readers, “What will this be the summer of for you?” After reflecting on this question on a Saturday morning sitting on my porch, I want to make this “The Summer of Taking a Minute.” My brother recently shared with me a beautiful tribute to the cyclist and journalist Richard Moore who passed away in 2022, written by his friend and colleague Caley Fretz, about how Richard lived:
"Always stay for the extra beer, Richard said. Always stay for the extra laughs. Always make the extra call and ask the extra question, always wait the extra minute in the press corral. Always take a minute to sit at the top of a mountain and appreciate where you are, who you’re with, the absurdity of this life. Take joy in it all. These paths we’re on do not continue indefinitely, though we thought they would. May they cross as often as possible.” (Richard Moore tribute by Caley Fretz, Velo Outside Online, March 20, 2022)
After losing my husband and best friend, Ted, tragically five years ago, these words are especially meaningful to me. I try to live this way but often find myself anxiously rushing around trying to get everything done, always watching the clock. For me, this is the summer of not watching the clock, of taking a minute to stop, breathe, find and appreciate joy all around me wherever I am. Maybe it's not sitting at the top of a mountain, but somewhere else that’s equally beautiful — sitting with family or a good friend, hearing a child's laughter or birds singing, feeling warm sunlight or a gentle breeze among the trees, rain falling, the touch of the soft fur of a sweet dog or cat, reading a good book, the sweet taste of ice cream. To slow down. To take it all in. To appreciate this life. To take joy in it all. Even in the pain that’s part of life, there’s joy, too, if we look for it.
What’s this the summer of for you? I hope you find joy wherever you are. Leigh