Sommeren 1998, mens verden fulgte med på Clinton-skandalen og Google tok sine første skritt i en garasje, satt en gruppe nyutdannede i varmen i Texas og lyttet til Kurt Vonnegut. Det meste av det han sa den dagen er glemt, men en historie om onkel Alex og et glass limonade bærer i seg en sannhet som er mer verdifull nå enn noen gang før.
Slutt å jakte på lykken, og begynn å legge merke til den.
Historie
I 1998 holdt Kurt Vonnegut åpningstalen ved Rice University. En passasje skiller seg ut:
Up to this point this speech has been new stuff, written for this place and this occasion. But every graduation address I’ve delivered has ended, and this one will, too, with old stuff about my Uncle Alex, my father’s kid brother.
Alex Vonnegut var utdannet ved Harvard og gjorde nytte for seg lokalt i Indianapolis som en hederlig forsikringsagent. Han var også belest og klok. En ting onkel Alex syntes var forkastelig med mennesker, var at de sjelden tok seg tid til å legge merke til når de var lykkelige.
He himself did his best to acknowledge it when times were sweet. We could be drinking lemonade in the shade of an apple tree in the summertime, and he would interrupt the conversation to say, “If this isn’t nice, what is?”
So, I hope that you Adams and Eves in front of me will do the same for the rest of your lives. When things are going sweetly and peacefully, please pause a moment, and then say out loud: “If this isn’t nice, what is?”
Det er flere vakre lag å pakke opp her:
Vi må trene oss opp til å legge merke til og sette pris på disse øyeblikkene av nåde når de dukker opp. De finnes overalt: en plutselig varm bris, et øyeblikks fred etter kaos, en kort kontakt med en fremmed. Disse øyeblikkene passerer alltid gjennom livene våre, men ofte går de upåaktet forbi med mindre vi bevisst anerkjenner dem.
Saying, “If this isn’t nice, what is?” is a powerful tool for cultivating gratitude and presence in our daily lives. It’s a verbal bookmark in time, telling our brains:
“Pay attention. This is one of the good moments. Remember this!”
Maybe it’s the first sip of coffee in the quiet early morning. The sound of our child’s laughter. A stunning pink and orange sunset. The satisfaction of a challenging workout. The cosy comfort of reading in bed at night.
These small moments won’t make headlines. They won’t earn accolades. But when we pause to acknowledge them consciously, we realize how abundant joy and beauty are in our lives. We shift from a mindset of scarcity and longing to one of fullness and appreciation.
If you take just a few seconds to pause and recognize a moment of happiness every day those seconds will start to add up. You’d accrue a collection of small joys to reflect back on. You’d rewire your brain to seek out more beauty and pleasure.
Chasing future happiness keeps joy always at arm’s length. But by noticing the good that’s already here inside these ordinary moments, we can access a deep well of contentment that never runs dry.
The next time you’re laughing with a friend, coming home to a purring cat, or biting into a perfectly ripe peach, take a cue from Vonnegut’s Uncle Alex. Pause, smile, and acknowledge: “If this isn’t nice, what is?” That simple acknowledgement may lead to a richer, happier, and more joyful life.
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