Time is Precious

Recently I've been struck by the need to grab a hold of every minute of life and live it to its fullest.  I of all people, know how easy it is to get caught up in the details of things and to get wound up over an unfinished to do list.  

However, lately I've realized how important it is to grab a hold of the minutes you have and live them to the fullest.  So many times I've had an hour to myself and can't enjoy it because my chores aren't done or there are emails waiting to be returned.  I'm always waiting for the fun and relaxation to start.  I need to grab a hold of these moments, where ever I can find them and use them to their fullest.  The alternative is that I work constantly and never take a break and consequently never feel relaxed or rested.

While I haven't had one big event happen to encourage me to learn to stop and smell the roses I've had a series of small events occur lately to make me realize that rushing through life isn't any way to live.  

Last week I was in such a hurry to complete my to do list and I was compelled to finish everything no matter how late it got at night, that I found myself putting luggage away in the attic at ten pm.  I didn't pay attention to what I was doing and before I knew it I was cracked in the head by the attic stairs.  It was pretty serious (I'm okay now.) and I realized that if I had just waiting another day it probably wouldn't have happened.  

This was just one of about four events that occurred in the past two weeks.  While its made for a crazy hectic two weeks, the time I've spent in the car, traveling etc has been spent thinking about those I have in my life and how thankful I am to have them in my life.  How our busy lives get in the way of making a phone call, having a sit down dinner together or even sending an email to someone.  


Sometimes it doesn't take illness or death to take someone out of your life.  Anger and stubborn behavior are sometimes to blame.  In my opinion those situations are worse because we are choosing to walk away.  However, you can change the way you think and you can do it today.

So, if you are reading this, take a moment to tell your mother, father, cousin, friend, co-worker just what they mean to you.  So often we are afraid to tell people because we feel embarrassed or we run the risk of getting hurt.  However, life is about connections and so many times we lose someone before we are able to tell them how important they are to us.