--Mahatma Gandhi

Many of us rush through life at such a high speed that we miss so much of the landscape along the way. We don't take enough time to smell roses, and spring's sweet air, or to gaze at the stars or the wondrous work of nature's paintbrush.  We are so preoccupied with other things that we fail to hear the sparrow's song, the sound of wind and waves, and the laughing of children.  

Life is short, and most of us come to the end of the journey long before we are ready.  So why are we in such a rush?  Is it because we think our true happiness lies in the future? Are things going to be so much better tomorrow that we can't take time to enjoy today?  Must we keep so busy accumulating things we think will bring good tomorrows that we can't afford to take time to enjoy the present?

We travel life's journey one day at a time. And a single day out of a lifetime seems almost too short to be of great significance. But every day is special.  Once we exit a day, or a year, we can never return. If we fail to take time to play with our children when they are small, we may discover that, while we were so busy accumulating riches for their future, our children grew up on us. 

Every day we have the opportunity to tell friends and family how much they mean to us, but often we are so busy that we forget. As the individual days add up to years, some of our loved ones will no longer be with us, and we will regret that we didn't spend more time with them while we could.  As time goes by, we will find that we have become too old to do some of the things that we had planned to do during our youth, and many of us will regret the lost opportunities.

          Many things in life are beyond our control, and we often lead more hurried lives than we would like. We must earn a living, and fulfill many other responsibilities. But, don't most of us have at least a little flexibility in our lives? If we took a hard look at how we spend our days, couldn't most of us find at least a little more free time?  Couldn't we actually slow down our lives considerably if that is what we most wanted to do? Shouldn't we always keep in mind the fact that tomorrow is only a hope, but today is a reality that we can enjoy now?

Copyright 2014 Allen W. Smith 

TB-52—Posted 05/30/2014