Walking down the street today I had an experience that I just couldn't help but share. Without over exaggerating things, I have to say that I feel like I bordered on epiphany. I can’t quite explain exactly how it happened but, all of a sudden, I looked up and saw a balcony on a building that I must have passed at least a hundred times in the last six years. That one balcony looked like such a perfect place to relax and people watch, that I started to look around me at the other buildings I passed to see what I might have missed as I rushed by in the whirlwind of activity that has been my life over the past four years. I honestly have to say, I was taken aback by the number of extraordinarily ordinary details I've seen but never noticed in my frenetic ego-centric rush to get here or go there or do this or that.
I suppose that what I'm really talking about is taking the time to smell the proverbial roses. It's something we talk about enough but one which not many of us actually do. And it seems like the older we get (at least in my experience), the less we live. And I'm not just talking about having fun either because what strikes me as I write this, is that we can even get so absorbed in our pursuit of pleasure that we still don't really enjoy living. I mean, can you call a life where you're constantly exhausted as a result of overwork, excessive partying or anything else living?
This quite ordinary experience has really opened my eyes to the way I've been going about my life. It's not to say that I regret anything, I just realize that I need to step back from my own stuff on a regular basis in order to look at the big picture. Interestingly enough, it showed me that I don't even have to take time out to do so. I mean, I was on my way to the tax office at the time it happened, (I know, who needs the club when there's the tax office right?). It's something we can do while about our daily business. It can really be that simple.
So, why not take a couple seconds to slide your stuff over into a corner and look at what's out there- besides you. This is by no means an endorsement of procrastination, mind you. If you have a report due and shirk that to go traipsing through the local mall, don't cite me as the one who told you to do it! But do take a minute to think outside your schedule, your friends, your responsibilities, your pleasure, your needs and wants because there's a great big world out there! It's quite easy and most of all, it will leave you energized and refreshed like nothing else- and who knows, you just might find the inspiration you need to tackle your own issues.
Here's to a new perspective on living!
No comments:
Post a Comment