Too many people put off the things that bring them joy
just because they haven't thought about it, don't have
it on their schedule, didn't know it was
coming, or are too rigid to depart from their routine.
Have you ever thought about all those people on
the Titanic who passed up dessert at dinner that
fateful night in an effort to cut back. From
then on, I've tried to be a little more flexible.
How many women out there will eat at home because
their husband didn't suggest going out to dinner until
after something had been thawed? Does the
word "refrigeration" mean nothing to you?
How often have your kids dropped in to talk and sat in
silence while you watched 'Law and Order' on
television?
How many times have you called your sister and said,
"How about going to lunch in a half hour?" and she would
stammer, "I can't. I have clothes in the
washer. My hair is dirty. I wish I had known
yesterday, I had a late breakfast," And my personal
favorite: "It's Monday."
Because Americans cram so much into their lives, we
tend to schedule our headaches.. We live on a sparse
diet of promises we make to ourselves when
all the conditions are perfect!
We'll go back and visit the grandparents when we get
Steve toilet-trained.
We'll entertain when we replace the living-room
carpet. We'll go on a second honeymoon when we get two
more kids out of college.
Life has a way of accelerating as we get older. The
days get shorter, and the list of promises to
ourselves gets longer. One morning, we awaken,
and all we have to show for our lives is a litany of
"I'm going to," "I plan on," and "Someday, when things
are settled down a bit."
When anyone calls my 'seize the moment' friend, she is
open to adventure and available for trips. She keeps
an open mind on new ideas. Her enthusiasm for
life is contagious. You talk with her for five
minutes, and you're ready to trade your bad feet for a
pair of Rollerblades and skip an elevator for
a bungee cord.
Now...go on and have a nice day. Do something you WANT
to...not something on your SHOULD DO list. If you were
going to die soon and had only one
phone call you could make, who would you call and what
would you say? And why are you waiting?
Have you ever watched kids playing on a merry go round
or listened to the rain lapping on the ground? Ever
followed a butterfly's erratic flight
or gazed at the sun into the fading night? Do you run
through each day on the fly? When you ask "How are
you?" Do you hear the reply?
When the day is done, do you lie in your bed with the
next hundred chores running through your head? Ever
told your child, "We'll do it tomorrow." And
in your haste, not see his sorrow? Ever lost touch?
Let a good friendship die? Just call to say "Hi"?
When you worry and hurry through your day, it is like
an unopened gift....Thrown away.... Life is not a
race. Take it slower. Hear the music
before the song is over.
"Life may not be the party we hoped for... but while
we are here we might as well dance!"
