Just Do It

There is something I've learned from life. One line from a song that has always played in my head and has so much meaning and is so wise.

We may never pass this way again.

We meet people in life and so many times take it for granted. We may even share a short conversation with them, but still take it for granted. Good things happen in our lives everyday. Many times they are small and seem insignificant, so again we take these for granted.

Instead we dwell on the bad things that are said and that occur during life.

We lose a friend because they move away and we feel hurt and angry. A loved one passes and we feel loss and hurt. A company we have worked for closes and we lose a job, we feel loss and anger.

We fall in love and don't exactly spend the time required to keep in close personal touch with the one we are in love with. We're with them every day, but never really talk to them about what's going on, hopes and dreams. Sometimes we have two different lives and grow apart. The love wanes and we find ourselves alone. We feel hurt, loneliness, anger and bitterness.

We never seem to take the good from what we have. There was something good or even beautiful to what we did have, but we never seem to try and hold on to that. Yet those are the things memories are made of that make us smile when we think about them.

It just seems to me that we need to learn to take advantage of every opportunity to make new friends and not dwell on the friends we've lost. We need to learn that losing a job is an opportunity to get a better job. We need to look at the small good things in life and look past the bad things.

When someone we love passes, we need to remember the good times we had and try and share even better times with someone new. Yes, we need to continue to learn, grow and enjoy the life that has been given to us.

When we let ourselves be defeated by the evil and bad in the world, that is true tragedy... When bad things happen there is always the possibility for hope to prevail. When reason and sanity don't seem to be around we can find purpose. The universe will go on with or without us and only our enjoyment of life will be lost.

If you don't stop and smell the roses while their in bloom they will be gone. You'll have missed an opportunity to enjoy something beautiful. Same goes for people, if you don't take the time to stop and talk to people they too will move on and you'll lose your chance to get to know them and learn from them. Also like that rose, if they're not cared for and nurtured they'll grow wild or will pass away.

So many times I have seen relationships wither and pass away simply because they were not nurtured and cared for. Time wasn't taken to just talk. Hugs and quick kisses were given up and replaced by a hi and a nod.

I've watched as people were so busy that they never really talked to their kids. The kids grow up and are gone. Leaving parents wondering how they missed it all. That goes the other way too. Parents pass away and kids are left wishing they had taken more time to know them.

So many great memories are missed simply because the time was not taken to create them. I think it's about time we all begin to take that time to make good memories. Time to pass on placing blame for bad and dwelling on the bad. Time to learn to remember the good and the beautiful and enjoy the life that we have been given.

Smile today as you remember the good times and get busy creating even more!