Lessons learned from a lost watch

Savour every moment – that’s my mantra for the summer. I lost my watch yesterday and it taught me an important lesson about slowing down.

I spend time every morning in quiet prayer and meditation. My mind was not quiet on this Saturday. I had a million errands to run. So I kept looking at my watch. I wanted to get to Trader Joe’s before they got too crowded, I wanted to get to the library to catch up on my Wall St. Journal reading. I had to get my Mom’s so we could go out for coffee. My mind was racing.

Halfway between Trader Joe’s and the library, I of course stopped to check the time. Oops – my watch was no longer on my wrist. I was carrying two heavy grocery bags, so I didn’t feel like retracing my steps. I hurried on to the library to check out the books that I had put on reserve. Said to myself, no time to sit and read the paper, I must get home, get my car and go look for my watch. Did that. Looked for my watch; it was no where to be found.

This was a cheapie watch that I wear with casual clothes. It has no sentimental value or dollar value. It still bugged me though that I couldn’t find it. I tried, more or less successfully, to let it go.

Enjoyed coffee with my Mom. We stopped at the florists to get two red roses, something we do every year on the anniversary of my Dad’s death. The florist greeted us with a big smile and said, “you came just in time since I’m closing early today. I’m off on vacation. How can I help you?” We asked for the roses, he smiled again and handed them to us and said, “no charge today.” He also looked around and gave us two big flower bouquets. He explained he was clearing out his shop in preparation for going on vacation.

I had two choices on Saturday – to continue thinking about my lost watch, or to remember the kindness and generosity of the florist. Guess which I chose?

The bouquet and the rose are proudly displayed in my family room. Both serving as reminders that I need to slow down and enjoy the journey.

The beautiful flowers are thanks to Needham Florist.

Watch photo is courtesy of Pedro Santos Jr.’s Flickr Photo Stream, under Creative Commons Licensing.