Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Are You Stopping To Smell The Roses?


The following was sent to me in an email from my friend, Stella. After reading it, I thought it was worth sharing. Enjoy!

Too many people put off something that brings 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.

I got to thinking one day 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 'Jeopardy' on television?

I cannot count the times I called my sister and said, 'How about
going to lunch in a half hour?'

She would gas up and stammer, 'I can't. I have clothes to fold. My
hair is dirty. I wish I had known yesterday, I had a late breakfast,
It looks like rain' And my personal favorite: 'It's Monday.' She died
a few years ago. We never did have lunch together.

Because we cram so much into our 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.

My lips have not touched ice cream in 10 years. I love ice cream. It's
just that I might as well apply it directly to my stomach with a
spatula and eliminate the digestive process. The other day, I stopped
the car and bought a triple-decker. If my car had hit an iceberg on
the way home, I would have died happy.

Now...go on and have a nice day. Do something you WANT to...not
something on your SHOULD DO list.

3 comments:

Stacy said...

I've received this in an email a time or two as well. Wise words!

I think I'll go have some ice cream. ;)

Tomas said...

Question "Are You Stopping To Smell The Roses?" is the best of what I could expect today. Thank you for the healing from all totally unnecessary buzz and reminder of the eternal values.
I am proud of bookmarking your site and that's for sure - Art by Tomas is your fan.

Emma Springfield said...

A big AMEN!

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