Life is Short - Shut Up and Smell the Roses!



Life is short, people! I am struck by this time and again as I see people ignoring beauty that surrounds them or forgetting to look up at the stars at night. I am crazy busy at certain times of the year and every day during the school year may be packed. I revel in being busy and I LOVE all the different things that I do! In contrast, periodically, I occasionally waste away a whole day doing absolutely nothing at home, inside. I love sleep, sometimes a little too much :-)

REGARDLESS of all of the above, I do take regular time to "stop and smell the roses". It's usually not announced like my concerts or travels are, but I do it and SO SHOULD YOU!

 

Newsflash: Life is short

Common Complaint: I don't have time

Another Newsflash: YES YOU DO

Order: Shut up and smell the roses!

LIVE your life for YOU
Get rid of naysayers, negative people, mean people, and criticizers - they come in all shapes and areas of life. The good news is that if you leave them to their own devices, they usually leave on their own.

GO OUTSIDE. Sit in that patch of green grass with clover. Have yourself a picnic! Take a walk or bike ride, drink your coffee in the park, park your car near the park.

LOOK UP at the stars. If you're in the city and there are too many lights, make a point to drive out to a place where you can see the stars. It will change your perspective. It will change you.

SPEND time with kids and pets, the elderly, and nature.

LAUGH and let it loose - don't let others make you feel wrong or stupid for doing it. Ignore them! They might shake their heads, roll their eyes, and even make snide comments. Let them. You go on and LAUGH :-)

Pick flowers occasionally or buy yourself some. It's so nice and you deserve it!

THINK. Take time out to sit and think. Think of people, places, stories. Sometimes you'll laugh and sometimes you'll cry, but it will be good for you.

GIVE people opportunities. In the end it is worth it. Sometimes people don't realize they've had a good opportunity until it's gone. Give everyone a chance. Give them two chances.

GIVE yourself permission. Give yourself fearlessness.

SMILE. Smiling can happen on the inside or the outside. Many of my smiles are inside :-)

ASK  Ask the question. Ask for something you want or need. Sometimes, if you don't ask, you'll never know

TELL someone you like them or love them. Go on, do it. It doesn't have to be hard to do and it doesn't have to be in the romantic sense. Sometimes, it's something someone needs to hear and sometimes it's something you need to do. We forget, busy humans that we are, to interact with each other on this level and sometimes we wake up and realize it's too late. We wonder if they knew we cared about them or liked something about them.

VISIT someone you always said you'd visit! Make it happen and if it can't be a physical visit, there's always Skype

Write your books, paint your pictures, sing your songs, dance your dances, climb that mountain, build the treehouse, learn a new language, wear what you want, eat healthy but splurge sometimes, go to that movie, buy the roller skates, ride the hot-air balloon, travel, save, spend, re-read your favorite book, connect through social media, paint your toenails, go swimming, step in the puddle, throw rocks at the lake, learn to cook...

CREATE, support, learn, encourage, partner.

RISK making a fool of yourself, risk standing up for what you believe even when it's hard

LOVE Give love, be love, love your life, love yourself. Have brotherly love, have romantic love. Treasure love, remember love, fight for love, cherish love. It's always worth it.

VOLUNTEER! Donate to a charity. It will be worth your while and make a life better

LEARN  Learn how to use some technology, learn to be nice to yourself, learn to be open, learn to dance.

BE  Be you. Be willing. Be adventuresome. Be fearless. Simply, BE.

DO NOT EVER TAKE LIFE FOR GRANTED