Major moments stick with us

He probably didn't realise at the time, but his words were very descriptive. He spoke of January 24, 2019, the hottest day for 80 years. He described going outside at midnight, with the temperature still close to 40 degrees Celsius. Most poignantly, he described the smell of the grapes fermenting on the vine - not a good sign for the upcoming vintage.

While yields were down, the quality was still relatively good, so not all was lost.

This conversation got me thinking about the dates that stick in our minds - some for good reasons, and others for all the wrong reasons - as well as how precious time is.

Depending on how old you are, there are certain dates you are likely to remember. It was before my time, but if you are of a certain vintage you will probably remember the assassination of John F Kennedy and the moon landing.

While I don't remember exactly where I was when Australia 2 won the America's Cup, I do remember watching it on television. It was the same for when the Twin Towers went down on September 11, 2001.

I do remember exactly what I was doing and where I was when Princess Dianna passed away. I was checking the bean crop in my dual-cab Holden Rodeo. It's funny how you can put yourself right back there at any time.

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I will never forget December 4, 1992, when a very good friend of mine unexpectedly passed away.

Other dates are much more joyous; they may be the day(s) your children were born, when the team won the grand final, or settlement happened on the new farm.

When you are reminded of significant dates in history, it is amazing how you can put yourself back there in an instant.

Some of these dates may only have meaning to you, others may reverberate across the world. It is not difficult to recall the emotions you felt at the time. Good or bad, they just come flooding back.

I am not sure of the percentages, but we have something like a one in four trillion chance of even being born.

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We are all very fortunate to be the ones that actually made it here. I think we all lose sight of that sometimes.

We can all reflect and think about what these occasions mean to us, and how these events have shaped us.

Where there is a lesson to be learnt, it's a good idea we take the lesson on board.

Whether those particular events were positive or negative, we all can choose how we respond to them.

One good aspect of spending time on a farm is you normally get a lot of time in solitude, and this allows for deep reflection.

It's important you are aware of what you are thinking about, and whether these thoughts aid you in the long-term or not. As the saying goes, you are what you think about.

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