Whenever there is a crisis in our lives, all things extraneous fall away. We center on those who are most dear to us, regardless of distance or time or disagreement.


Crises come in many forms. They can be individual, involve a family or group, or be more global.

Whatever form they take, what they have in common is that they take us immediately to our core. Life starts to be lived in slow motion because everything that is unimportant simply vanishes.

We do not wonder if there are unmade beds or how much we weigh or what meetings are scheduled. All the day-to-day details fall to the periphery of our awareness. Essentials take front and center in our minds, hearts and behavior. We know, know, what is important to us.

Perhaps we could not live at the height of intensity that we experience in moments of crisis. Perhaps we need the daily routines to divert our attention, offering us a more rote existence. Perhaps, however, we can be more balanced and keep in mind what is really important to us, even when there is nothing shaking our existence.

Life starts to be lived in slow motion because
everything that is unimportant simply vanishes.

Few lives have been untouched by personal crises such as a grave illness of a loved one or going through a divorce - but we have all shared national traumas such as 9/11 and we know what it means to focus on a central event. Do you remember how you felt? I do.

Since going through - 'surviving' is a better description - personal crises, as well as a long period of fear after 9/11, I savor life's good moments more. These moments of time spent with my family and friends mean more now. I know how relieved I am that a simple get-together is possible and how happy I am to live without crisis.

The really important things in life are very simple and readily available if we will just realize they are available to us. If we can remember how we felt when life was at its worst, we can make life today be our best time, enjoying the moments we have by just being fully present and appreciative.

Jean Loxley-Barnard has been a writer all her life and studied both sociology and psychology at George Washington University where she earned a B.A. Her company, The Shopper, Inc., encompasses all the Loxley-Barnard family publications - The Shopper Magazines and Doctor to Doctor Magazine. She has been in the advertising, consulting and publishing business for 39 years.