I wake up and look at the writing on the wall….
~ Live Simply ~
It is there to remind me ~ Never become so engrosed in material things that I lose sight of what makes my life a true blessing.
I am reminded ~ Blessings come in many shapes and sizes but are always there if I am willing to look.
It reminds me ~ There can be good stuff on the inside of us all ~ We can all be beautiful no matter what our outer packages project.
What a gift it would be if we could learn to see the inside of a life and forget about the outer packages.
With age has come realization… Realization that life is fragile, Realization that each day gives us an opportunity to fullfill all that is important to us, Realization that each day is one of a kind, Realization that no matter what the obstacles before us, we are able to learn and grow and enjoy and prosper.
“Does Thou Love Life? Then Do Not Squander Time, For That Is The Stuff Life Is Made Of.” ~ Ben Franklin
“That Man Is The Richest Whose Pleasures Are The Cheapest.” ~ Thoreau
“We Do Not Remember Days, We Remember Moments.” ~ Cesare Pavese
I recently became a Grandmother for the second time, what a true joy to know this unconditional love. As I think of all the things I want to share with my grandchildren, it is the walks throught the woods, the sunrises, the sunsets, the days full of laughter, bliss and happiness that I most want them to experience and to teach them to appreciate.
It is the long, lazy summer days spend skipping rocks or fishing or wandering around with no destination in mind; It is the autumn days with the cool breeze in the air, wondering about the leaves changing colors, camp fires and sleeping in tents, fishing in streams, admiring the mountains in the distance and venturing to meet them; It is the cold winter mornings spent drinking hot cocoa, stomping in the newly fallen snow and realizing that no two snowflakes are ever the same. It is the springtime days spent picking wildflowers, flying a kite and having a picnic. It is the mornings snuggling with their parents and the nightimes falling asleep to a bedtime story.
My wish for them would be the opportunity and courage to live a lifetime true to themselves and their passions. The confidence to follow their heart, find out what it is that they love and persue it with all of their soul. I wish that they would learn to appreciate and admire the simple things in life.
Today I am reminded - The Simple Things Truly Are The Best Things.
A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.
Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups – porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite – telling them to help themselves to the coffee.
When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: “If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups have been taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.
Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups… And then you began eyeing each other’s cups.
Now consider this: Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of life we live.
Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee. Savor the coffee, not the cups! The happiest people don’t have the best of everything… They just make the best of everything.
Live Simply. Love Generously. Care Deeply. Speak Kindly
