There are periods in one’s life that come and go, and there are periods in one’s life that are significant to the individual experiencing a specific event. Milestones. The dictionary defines these moments in life as ‘an action or event marking a significant change or stage in development.’

This weekend Irene and I experienced a reawakening of how value is truly perceived in our daily lives. I can’t say we have never had an experience such as this, but a reawakening of what this means in our lives. A shift on how we viewed the important things in our lives versus the things in life that we had always previously viewed as significant.

Look-up the words important and significant you will find a parallel of vertical alignment between both words. Both words are of value, but importance clearly supersedes significant. The virtue of importance is foundational. Sure there are many things in our lives that are significant, and that level of significance provides value in and of itself. But importance is something that one cannot dispute with another person, because it embodies individual significance. Importance is an umbrella that inherently includes the true value of both words.

I say to my students every year, “There are some things that you do only once in your life.” Those moments are of utmost importance, and it is those moments that we need to cling strongly. It is those moments in time that we remember forever because we realize they are milestones, just for us.