Celebrate Your Life
"Eighty-five percent of life is showing up." -Woody Allen
When was the last time you actually "stopped and smelled the roses"? When was it that you stopped what you were doing long enough to see the magic of a sunset? How much of the magnificence of the world around you do you notice each day?
If you're like most people, you get caught up in your daily routines and don't always take the time to appreciate this glorious experience we call life.
We all do it. We get in a rut of doing our daily tasks and busily going about our day, not even noticing the world around us. A rapid-paced society is robbing us of the very stuff life is made of.
Life is not about a destination, arriving, or making it. It's about the journey. It's the process of living. Once, when I was living in southern California, a place of incredible beauty, I had become so complacent, so jaded, that I even began not to notice the majestic sunsets and beautiful sunny days. My attitude had become more like, "Oh yes, the sun is setting int he ocean; I saw that last week." Can you imagine taking life so much for granted?
We are born, and we will die. These are absolutes. There's no way around it. We cannot change or control that fact. We can, however, make the time between these two events, whether it is a long or short time, exciting and wonderful, or we can live a life of quiet desperation. The choice is ours.
Make a habit of appreciating the world around you. Take time from your hectic schedule to see what's right in front of you. Watch children playing, birds singing, flowers blooming, and, yes, the sun setting into the ocean if you are so fortunate.
There is magic all around us. All we need to do is stop and take notice. There is no charge for admission. You don't need any special equipment. The good Lord provides us with this incredible spectacle each day. All we have to do is show up for it.
Jim Donovan is author of This Is Your Life, Not a Dress Rehearsal www.jimdonovan.com Copyright 2009. All Rights Reserved.
