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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."
Check one:
"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 Roller blades 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.
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发表于 2007-9-21 18:45
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