Do you ever look back and reminisce on how things were? Curious that, had things gone a different way, your life may be very different than it is now? Everyone thinks about it at one time or another. It may be with a friend you have not talked to in awhile or just thinking about it as you look outside at the world.
When we were kids, we never saw how things truly were. As I sit here and think about how life has changed, I wonder how I did not see how it was before. As a kid, you say you cannot wait to grow up and be an adult. Now I wish I had not been in such a hurry to grow up. I never thought that a year could by in a blink of an eye, let alone a decade. Someone mentions 2003, and I think it was five years ago, but it was 13 years go. Life flies by faster than we expect it to. But do we ever sit down and be thankful for what we have now? Thinking about how things were when we were younger versus now makes me realize that by looking toward the future more than the present, you miss many things.
Our society today is always rushing around, never stopping to “smell the flowers.” Whenever someone told me before to sit down and “smell the flowers,” I never understood why it was so important. As I am preparing to enter the real adult world, I realize that sometimes you just need to slow down and take break, look around, and appreciate what is in front of me instead of bustling around and thinking about a million things that need to get done. Taking that time to really appreciate what you have has allowed me to appreciate life itself. So many good things happen and we do not see it until it is too late.
Do not take what you have for granted. The experiences you go through are unique to you. No one else can go through things the way you do or see them the way you see them. Enjoy life; do not just let life happen because you can miss so much. Really open your eyes and your heart to what is happening. There may be ugly parts of the world and occurrences, but there are some beautiful things we miss in life. A deer and her fawn, the chirping of baby birds—the things we take for granted can be all someone has to live for.
You only live once, right? So why rush it? Why waste it? It is time to get out there and take life by the horns and appreciate what you have because you still have more than someone else. Take those five minutes, look at the world around you, and really take it in and see what it is about. Go for a walk, a drive, or just sit outside and watch. You will be amazed at what you have been busy in the busy schedule of life.
