Life is Too Short

Every day I have random thoughts that come to me that I think, "I need to blog about that." I tend to email them to myself so that I don’t forget. I literally have at least 50 things in a folder right now. I go to the folder and whatever feels like it calls to me or needs to be written gets to be typed out. Sometimes I do research and educate people, but more often than not, I write things that happen around me that come from my heart.

Today, I went to look at all these ideas and none of them jump out at me. I keep going back to a post by a dear friend on facebook. It is a poignant and a bit melancholy post that has had me thinking all day long about how truly short life is.

This dear friend and real life neighbor, is a fantastic lady. She happened to pick up the phone today to call a client and friend of hers, only to find out that she had passed away. Her post said this had left her pondering many things as well as the fact that people often have untold things going on in their lives that we never know about until it’s too late.

Ever since reading her post, I’ve had a few thoughts rattling around in the back of my head. The first relates to how short of a span we really get here on earth. The second relates to how busy we tend to be. The last one has to do with what really matters in life.

We all have a limited time frame, some have more time, others have less. As we grow, we decide what we want to do with our lives. Often our profession ends up as more of a necessity than a labor of love. Some people are lucky and get to do what they love all their lives. The rest of us work to take care of our families, giving our best to our employers for 8 to 10 hours a day. Then going home to our spouses and children, often so tired once we’ve run everyone here, there and yon that we fall into bed exhausted only to start over the next day.

Do you really ever accomplish the things you wanted to do? Once when you were younger, did you dream of doing something besides what you are doing to pay the bills? Often we find ourselves in a catch 22, because our choice of profession that truly makes our heart sing could very well end up paying less than what we need to take care of our family. So we keep going, day after day, not really rejoicing in our work. A rare set of people get to do what they love every day, either getting paid what they need to take care of their family or not having to worry because they have enough set aside to supplement.

We live life so fast and furious, often we forget what is important. Spending real time with other people has become a lost art. I’m not talking about being on the phone or texting or facebook. I mean actually sitting and talking to other people and listening to what they are saying. Your family is important, and your neighbors and friends are also significant. We need to make time for everyone in our lives that matter to us. We need to stop and do it today.

We should be aware that everyone is dealing with things that they may not want us to know about like illness or family problems. Everyone has things that happen and that they deal with throughout their lifetime. When we actually start spending real time with others, it becomes apparent that our friends and family have needs that we can fill. Sometimes it’s a hug on a not so great day, other times it’s listening as frustrations are vented or holding someone as they cry out their sorrow. We have lost touch in our fast paced lives with the importance of other people. People matter, especially those that are dear to us.

The key really is learning how to make time for what matters. It’s not too late to start today and make real changes that will make a monumental difference for yourself and others. Start evaluating your life today. If you aren’t where you want to be, what changes can you make today that can alter your path? Remember how Ebenezer Scrooge had several epiphanies that altered his life drastically for the good in less than a day. Remember the dreams of your youth and start taking steps to ensure they come true.

I’ll leave you with this quote from Ralph Marston that seemed to sum what I’ve been trying to say up. “You have one life to live. Do you want to spend that life just getting by? Or do you want to make your own unique contribution to the world? The choice is yours. Life is wonderful and precious. Find what you want out of life and live it all the way.”

Read more: http://greatday.com/motivate/960612.html#ixzz1sG5S4JTR

 

Kathie Hitt

Email: kathiehitt@yahoo.com

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