What is a good day for you?
The answer may not be what you think, first
It was a Friday evening. There were COVID-related restrictions (masks indoors). The restaurant had taken its last orders about an hour ago. We were winding up for the night — homeward bound. One of us was working the next day; another had a trek to go to. The others had to do errands for kids.
It is interesting how the grain of a Friday night changes as one counts more full moons.
In the car, on the way out of the city, a friend asked, “What is a good day for you”?
“It would be a bit of travel, photography and some writing”, I responded, instinctively. “And for you?”
“Well, it depends on whether it is a lazy day or not. If it is a lazy day….”, she started talking about what would be a good day for her.
She seemed to have thought it through before. If not, she definitely was very structured, for over two minutes, while thinking on her feet.
The next day, while on a walk, I asked myself the question again — what is a good day for me?
And slowly, the depth of that question unfolded in front of me
She was right.
It depends.
“Good” comes in various hues — but in essence, one would bookmark a day based on how one felt at the end of the day, long after the details are forgotten.
One would remember the laughter, but not so much the joke or what was ordered at the meal.
One would remember the warmth of a hug, not so much the temperature outside.
One would remember the friends at an event, not so much in what order they came and left.
One would remember the exhausted exhilaration on the top of the mountain, but not so much the stress of the hours before.
When I combed through the “good days” in my memory, these attributes stood out.
Magic and wonder
I realize that on days I looked after myself a bit more, doing activities that I really love, I have a good day.
It does not matter if I woke up at 4:30 am and drove an hour to get ahead of the sunrise. The magic of the morning sky unravelling ahead of me fills me up like no breakfast can.
or
There is the high I get on just diving deep into myself — getting lost somewhere in the universe in a quest to find myself.
or
Getting cozy, cuddly, or intimate with people who you consider your own
As I look back after a day, if I have given myself a spark of beauty or wonder, it is a “good day”.
Better, together
Then there are days when you make yourselves and others a bit better.
I remember Santa Day at my daughter’s daycare a few years ago. I vaguely remember I prioritized that event over another work commitment — the details of which my brain has chosen to not even store.
I remember that day when the team delivered a new software into the market, empowering thousands of global enterprises. One of these days when you feel, I have truly moved the needle.
I remember meals with people I like — the decor, the table, the design, the conversation, though not always the food.
Good days are when laughter, teamwork, and collective consciousness adds a bit of energy into The Ether.
Scars
There are beautiful scars that are developed in the process of growth. On days when I etch a bit more into a scar, I know I have had a good day.
The blister below the right little toe after your longest trek ever. A badge you would want to nurse, with pride.
The day you practised that difficult song, till you got it right, without missing a note.
The months you persisted with that employee who has huge potential but had a difficult past, till he bloomed.
That is it then.
On days when I have:
- imbibed a bit of magic
- added a bit of laughter into The Ether; or
- have grown a scar, tissue, muscle, or neuron as a process of growth,
I know I have had a Good Day!
