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I have a friend who lives by
a three-word philosophy: "Seize the moment." Just possibly,
she may be the wisest woman on this planet.
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 women 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 gasp and stammer,
"I can't. I have clothes on the line. 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 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 Stevie
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 hips 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.
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? Make sure you read this to the end; you will understand why I
sent this to you.
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?
You better slow down. Don't dance so fast. Time is short. The music
won't last.
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"?
You'd better slow down. Don't dance so fast. Time is short. The music
won't last.
When you run so fast to get somewhere, you miss half the fun of
getting there. 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.
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