I was reminded yesterday of how important our daily journey is. It’s so easy to get wrapped up in what I am doing and what’s going on that I forget to pause and remember that the moment I am in represents the quality of my life. The quality of your daily journey is the quality of your life.

Remember how struck I was when I found out that my retiring CEO had been diagnosed with throat cancer, just months before his retirement date? Well I found out yesterday that he is also now almost totally blind, whether from the illness or the treatment, and the joys and benefits of sight are now a real handicap.

This is a guy who has been at the top of the heap for so long, and now when he could take the time to enjoy a worry free retirement in fabulous parts of the world, he has been incapacitated in a large way. This reminds me again how precious every day is. And also that it doesn’t matter what you have or what you are working for, if you are putting off the quality of your daily journey. Even if you think you are so blessed and have everything you need, if you don’t give time to appreciate and utilize this gifts, then what good are they?

We just came back from a week in the Dominican Republic. With the high cost of voice and data, it was easy to unplug for the week, enjoy the incredible weather, and take time away from the race. This winter has been so cold that just getting a week’s worth of warm humid air fed the body, skin and soul. Getting out of the race meant we could take the time to read, swim and play, and not have to rush to the next activity.

For me, I have wanted to play a little golf with the kids. Our villa was on a golf course and so taking the kids out for putting and chipping was so fun, and gave them a slight appreciation for the game and the patience it takes to get the ball in the hole. Golf is a total opposite from the instant gratification of today’s electronics driven entertainment choices. That realization was a benefit I did not think of previously.

Anyway, back to the daily journey. I frankly just got lost in thinking about slowing down and enjoying the moment of being…in the moment. I have this thought that I spend too much time setting my life up so I can enjoy it, and forget to take the next step and enjoy. It’s not just having the device, it’s the content that comes through it. Being able to achieve a hundred things in a day is awesome, except if you fill the entire day with those achievements, and then go to sleep and do it again the next.

One day is going to be your last and no one knows which one that will be. So I would rather take some time in every day’s journey to give thanks and enjoy the blessings I have. Enjoy that my health is good (knock on wood..or iPad), enjoy that my kids are young and in the house and I get to see them each day. Heck, I can even enjoy the trials that I have with them from doing the dishes to electronics addiction, to raging hormones! Even in the worst of days we can remember the gifts and blessings that are present in our daily journey. Doing so should improve the daily journey, which in turn will improve the quality of our lives.