The Importance of Remembering Life Is a Process

Life is a process and yesterday I was reminded about life’s process. While I was sitting in the Brasilia airport waiting for a flight home, I observed something strange, yet familiar.

What I observed in the airport, caused me to have a revelation. This revelation was not something that was unfamiliar to me. Quite the opposite. In fact, it is something that I’ve always been taught, but every once and awhile I need to be reminded of it and I am sure that you do too.

Two Kids

Here’s what I saw.  I saw a mother and a father with a little girl who could not have been older than 3 years old. The mother and father looked exhausted yet they soldiered on as they watched their daughter. The little girl was running back and forth from her mother and father to another set of seats – 5 or 6 feet away. She ran from the seats, back to her mother and father without tiring and without stopping, numerous times. When she would reach her parents she would run and hug them with a smile on her face, then immediately take off once more.

Eventually, her parents got tired of watching her run back and forth so they called their daughter back to them. Sitting behind the first family was a mother and her son,  who was not much more than a year old. The two families started a conversation.

The little girl took interest in the younger little boy. She looked at him curiously, as if he was some long lost treasure just being uncovered.

Away We Go

The two families spoke for awhile until finally the little girl stood up and encouraged the one year old boy to join her and run with her.The mother of the one year old scooped up the child and took him to the floor to stand next to the little girl. The girl glimpsed briefly at the boy then took off running, just as she had done before. She stopped at the same set of seats as before, then looked back and saw that the little boy was walking slowly with the help of his mother.

The little girl waited for them to catch up, then took off running back to the other side toward her parents. Before she reached her parents, they made sure to tell her to slow down so that she wouldn’t put so much distance between herself and the little boy. The little girl however, did not understand this. She could not comprehend why the little boy couldn’t run like her.

She slowed down briefly like her parents asked but then picked up speed again- not bothering to look back. Her parents watched and smiled. When she stopped at her parents, she sat down in a seat next to them and looked at the little boy who was still ambling along with the help of his mother. The little girl looked confused and then asked her parents loudly, “Why can’t the little boy walk on his own?”. Her parents replied, “Because he’s still a baby he hasn’t learned yet”.

Life is a Process

That was when I had my revelation. Life is a process.

Instantly, I knew that I had heard this before. Time and time again my dad has taught me to remember that life is a process. I have heard it said so many times that it has left a detailed imprint all over my memory.

On this particular evening , I had forgotten to remember that life is a process. Rather than focusing on the lesson, I spent the whole day fixated on the obstacles rather than considering that obstructions are a part of the process.  Life is a process and I failed to remember that my process was to do whatever was necessary to achieve my goals. I was so caught up with self pity that I forgot the process that I have always used in reaching previous goals.

Like a Slide Show

Everyday we get older. We don’t pause to take the time to remember, to think about all the things we’ve learned to do and/or the process it took to accomplish all the things we have managed to do.

Like the little girl, we don’t remember the time and effort it took for us to learn how to walk – let alone run. No one is instantly successful and few things in life that are important are simple. Unfortunately, we typically overlook the time, the effort, and the commitment it takes to achieve a goal.

So take a moment!  NO, take a few minutes RIGHT NOW! Think about something you initially found difficult to do but later achieved. Think about every step you took to accomplish that goal and how gratifying it felt when you finally accomplished your goal.

Life is a process! Now, go forward, celebrate your success, embrace your failures, and don’t ever forget  that you must learn to walk before you  can run.

Do you look at your life as a process? Are you teaching your child the value of looking at life as a process?