Our Town is 1938 play by Thornton Wilder. In a deceptively simple and unadorned way it manages to ask the most profound questions about life.
The main character, Emily, only realizes after she is dead just how precious life is. The key line of the play is when she asks the play’s narrator “Does anyone ever realize life while they live it…every, every minute?”
The answer, of course, is generally no. Yet our time on this planet is, in a way, the most profound gift of all.
My takeaway from this is something I call the Our Town principle: Whenever you are feeling down, remember that you are the recipient of an infinitely precious gift.
You don’t need to think about this “every, every minute.” But every once in a while can sure do wonders for your mood.