How about it – do you have something special that you’re saving for “just the right moment?” WHEN will that moment be, do you know???
How soon ‘not now’ becomes ‘never’.
— Martin Luther
Not Yet…
Why do we put off using special gifts we’ve been given? We packrat them away in drawers and cupboards, or display them on shelves to simply be admired but not touched or used. I think of:
- The really fine watercolor paper I’m saving for my best effort. (And how do you know when you begin an art project whether it will end up an “under the bed” or a “mat & frame” work of art??)
- The Sweet Pea seeds I’ve not planted because I don’t have the exact “best” place for them
- The “good china” lovingly packed in a top cupboard
- The fancy perfume for “special occasions”
- The gorgeous, home-grown tomatoes and squash we accidentally froze in the garage refrigerator while waiting for a propitious moment to serve them
- The lotions and potions that seem too precious to “waste” on just my everyday arms and legs and face…
Perhaps it’s human nature to hoard precious gifts, tucking them away for just the right moment, saving them for some “when” or another… you know, like:
- When I’m feeling talented
- When I lose weight
- When we go out for a special evening
- When we have guests
- When we go on vacation
- For our anniversary
- For …
Well, what the hey! WHAT are we waiting for???
Why Not NOW?
At the end of December – right after the season of gift giving and receiving – the article, Carpe Diem? Maybe Tomorrow caught my attention. Author John Tierney stated:
Once you start procrastinating pleasure, it can become a self-perpetuating process if you fixate on some imagined nirvana. The longer you wait to open that prize bottle of wine, the more special the occasion has to be.
Ah, that explains the hoarding! We start small, thinking we want to savor the special-ness by using it in the best way possible. And then, as time goes by, we up the ante – and those VERY special occasions never, ever, get there.
During the summer of 2009 I wrote Got It? Use It! in which I concluded that the time to experience the pleasures of small treasures was NOW:
I’m going to follow in the footsteps of some insightful friends who, when they retired to full-time RV life, sold their home and gave away all sorts of stored, never-used items. They were on the verge of giving away an exquisite set of crystal (!) dinnerware they’d received as a wedding gift 50 years ago. They’d never used the crystal ware because they were so fragile, too beautiful to break! Today, in their RV, they dine on crystal instead of paper plates – and should the crystal shatter, well then, sweep it up! And revel in the ephemeral joy of experiencing something special.
John Tierney concluded something similar:
…give yourself deadlines. Cash in [your frequent flyer] miles by summer, even if you can’t get a round-the-world trip out of them. Instead of waiting for a special occasion to indulge yourself, create one… [take the lead from] Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher who for the past decade used their Wall Street Journal column on wine to proclaim the last Saturday of February to be “Open That Bottle Night”.
In fact, I think we should all take PattiAnn’s advice and just choose a day to be our very own “Dee Dah Day”:
…create a “Dee Dah” Day for yourself. Smell the lilacs. Notice the sky. Dance to music you love. Reconnect with an old friend. Paint. Eat chocolate. Take photos. Do some beach reading… whatever refreshes your soul and gives you strength for one more day.
To that I add: on your Dee Dah Day, savor those gifts, enjoy them now and then hoard instead the happy memories of the joy and fun of using them! Have your Dee Dah Day soon.
Processing... 
