I have learned a few valuable lessons this past week. Three to be exact, but I am going to share them over three separate posts so they aren't as lengthy. If I have some details that seem irrelevant to the "lesson", they will come into play in a following "lesson". Bare with me. So this is part one of a three part post.
Lesson #1- Slow down. We rush by life too fast, and wish our days away. Slow down and take time to appreciate what surrounds you. The world is a beautiful place. Take time to appreciate the blessings you have and to enjoy the minutes usually take for granted.
(I will warn you, my stories are a bit long, so prepare yourself.)
After the fall semester ended I got really sick. I've been dealing with mysterious health issues for several years now, but my frustration came back towards the end of the semester. This led to the fun doctor visits, tests, and draining my body of more blood than I felt necessary, leaving me feeling hopeless and uncomfortable, I came to the decision to take the spring semester off to get back on my feet, which the doctor agreed would be best for me to do.
This decision definitely has had it's pros and cons. For one, I do not like being behind in the norm. I'm the type of person who just wants to get school finished and out of the way, so taking the semester off sort of cramped my style in a sense. I also have gotten into the groove of not going to school, so now I don't ever want to go to back. That's bad. I'll go, don't worry. But that dreaded feeling of school has crept into my head and it's awful. Not to mention I've second guessed what I want to go into. Now, I know what you're thinking. I'm a freshman in college. That's normal to change, and I'll probably change multiple times, but IT STRESSES ME OUT. What the heck am I supposed to do with my life? It also has turned me into a somewhat lazy person. This is also very bad. I've never been lazy. I'm an on-the-go, busy, scheduled person... or I once was.
I work at a little clothing boutique which I love. Seriously. It's the greatest job in the whole world, and I have yet to complain about it once the whole five months I've been there. The ladies I work for are the best ever, and this job has been such a blessing. It kind of fell into my hands and I will forever be grateful that it did. If I could work there the rest of my life I totally would. Maybe. ;) So other than working, I don't do a whole lot. I don't feel well a lot of the time, and sometimes it's a lot worse than others, but I don't ever lead onto how I feel. But, I usually rest lots and relax, thus turning me into a lazy person. I feel like I don't do anything with my life, and that's maybe because I don't.
The boutique doesn't open until noon everyday, so I've had the wonderful/terrible privilege of sleeping in. A few mornings ago was the first time in months I had to wake up early, and stay awake. (Naps have become a welcomed friend with my immune system.) I had a doctors appointment that I had to be to at 7:50 am, and then a few errands to run after that.
As I headed out that way, I realized that it felt so good to be awake and going and to breathe morning air. I had definitely missed it! I gladly left my appointment, grateful for modern medicine, and decided to stop by Great Harvest and get something to eat. This was the best decision I made all day. Not only did I get a delicious, fresh cinnamon roll right out of the oven, but the employees were extremely attractive all-male workers. Well done Great Harvest. You know how to run a business. I set aside the fact that I had rolled out of bed and looked a little scary, and I quite enjoyed my little visit to the bakery.
When I left I had to run an errand for my mom, and got stuck behind a train. I had my windows down, my music up, and a warm cinnamon roll on my lap. I was in no hurry, but I was probably twenty cars back from the train. I began to notice impatient cars leaving the line to change routes to get to where they needed to be. It made me realize that we spend too much time worrying about time! People are always in a hurry, always watching the clock, and always missing what's around them. I sat in my car enjoying life for a good twenty minutes as the rest of the world spun on without me. How good it felt to breathe and not worry about anything for those few minutes, and how good it felt to not care what others thought so I could enjoy my morning! I noticed how blue the sky was, flower buds starting to pop out of the ground, how warm the air was getting, I watched birds create fascinating patterns in the sky, and it made me sad knowing that so many others were missing out on such a beautiful day.
So take a minute to slow down and enjoy the blessings that surround you. We take life for granted way too much and spend too much time worrying about the future. Take a minute to breathe.
"Do we listen to beautiful music waiting for the final note to fade before we allow ourselves to truly enjoy it? No. We listen and connect to the variations of melody, rhythm, and harmony throughout the composition... We shouldn't wait to be happy until we reach some future point, only to discover that happiness was already available—all the time! Life is not meant to be appreciated only in retrospect." -President Dieter F. Uchtdorf
No comments:
Post a Comment