Moments of Authenticity: Trying to Collect Them

When I was in my twenties, I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. I was really eager to figure it out! It occurred to me that I should collect “moments of authenticity” as if they were the most beautiful butterfly specimens. My thinking went: if I collect and save each small moment that really resonates with me, I might be able to find patterns. Then I can intentionally build the kind of life I want for myself.

Now that I’m in my forties I’ve tried to switch from building my life to savoring it. And yet I find that living our best lives does require us to pay attention to what fills our soul (since it can change over time). And when we find something that fills us up, we should try to get more of it!

So I am back to collecting butterfly specimens (metaphorically speaking). And this weekend I had one of them.

I’ve mentioned before that we have three close family friends in Austin. We have maintained contact with all three families throughout COVID (although we never hang out all together). This past weekend, we met one of the families at a tiny park for dinner.

Here’s what I loved about it:

• I got to experience something completely new to me. Even though I’ve lived in Austin for nearly 9 years, I had never seen this particular spot. It was a tiny park with a cement ping-pong table.
• I got to play ping-pong (which I love).
• We spent the whole afternoon outside in nature.
• Our take-out food was tasty! (burritos and chips and queso).
• I got to have deep, meaningful conversations with dear friends.

Now, don’t start conjuring up a picture perfect experience in your mental movie. My children were annoying (lots of “I’m bored” and “Can we go home now?). And Matt didn’t have as much fun as I did because he was dealing with them. But he also got 3.5 hours out of the house to go for a run this weekend, so I’ll count it as a fair trade!

It’s reminding me how much community and connection beyond my family matter to me. It doesn’t have to be elaborate. In fact, I prefer when it’s casual! But I need it to be frequent.