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At age 62, area woman Lauren King feels that she’s really learned to appreciate the big things in life.
“There’s nothing like moving too fast in life,” explained King. “We can never move fast enough, in fact, to really focus on all those big milestones that can happen.” King believes that it’s important to focus on the destination, and not the journey it took to get there.
“Career success? I care a lot about that,” said King. “Getting married to my husband? Having three kids? These are all big things that are really important to me.” King added that sometimes big things might not feel like they matter too much in the moment, but usually they do because they are so big.
Thinking of other important moments in her life that she always knew she’d look back on and appreciate, King mentioned her high school prom, graduation, her acceptance to college, her first internship, and losing her virginity. Said King, "Those were big days for High School Lauren!”
King went on to say that it helps to think about even bigger things-things like food, water, warmth, and love. “Man, do I appreciate the sky," said King. “The universe too. It’s incredibly big and important.”
The skill of focusing on and appreciating the big things does not happen overnight, according to King. “For example, being employed for 10 years was a big deal, but very gradual,” said King. “It was only 10 years after 10 years, so I really needed to take those 10 years to think about how meaningful that’d be for me."
“There will always be beauty around you wherever you look—the first spring blossom, a smile from a stranger, the feeling of putting your clothes on right out of the dryer—but who needs all that?” asked King. “Why waste your time appreciating those tiny things when you’ve got things like your children’s college graduation and going through menopause?”
At press time, King was marking off the days until she could finally celebrate her funeral.
