I’m Sure I didn’t

The older I get the more time seems to fly. It truly waits for no one. Moments come and go so quickly. One has to be intentional about seizing the moments. This picture was taken on the day I graduated from high school a few decades ago. These are two of my gal pals that helped to make those years memorable. What strikes me about this photo [ apart from the beauties present😍] is the breath-taking background.

I remember having a similar view of this magnificent tapestry from a few of my classrooms. The most amazing thing is I don’t remember having an appreciation for this thing of beauty. I am sure I didn’t enjoy or cherish this view the way I should have. This is would have been quite therapeutic back in the day. Today, I would have taken a minute or two to ‘breathe in’ all of this – a minute to smell the roses.

I don’t remember all the things I fussed over back then. In the grand scheme of things, many of them were a non-factor. I missed the moments. Maybe others did, but I am sure I didn’t pay much attention to the clean air we breathed on that hill. Void of pollution and noise. There was a river or stream running behind the campus which was off limits. It didn’t stop us from going down there after a hot day of PE. We had no gyms. We did PE outside! In white T-shirts and a very short blue skirt with bloomers underneath. Does anyone remember those days? If you have pictures, please send me a copy! 😂 Feeling free and safe from external threats. We could leave campus at lunch time to go into town to buy lunch. I remember my friends and I would save enough money sometimes to go to a restaurant in town for a sit-down lunch. The kind of restaurant with table-cloths and tableware that wasn’t plastic. Those days are probably long gone – the world is different today. A bit scarier for students. Challenging for school administrators.

Daily I’m learning to ‘take in’ the moments. Finding the beauty that’s here in this moment. Watching children laugh and play. The sound of the raindrops on my windows or my windshield. Watching a dad and a daughter with the same gait. A mother and a son with the same smile- the same eyes. Observing an elderly couple who seem to have grown now to resemble each other. Watching a man’s eyes following a woman’s every move and vice-versa😊. Smiling at what looks like young love. Trees changing their leaves. Architectural details in and on old buildings. Looking at the variety flowers growing wild. The old oak, palm and pine trees. I find much to smile or laugh about; much to calm me. The wonder of man’s abilities! The wonder of God’s creation!

Don’t miss the moment, chasing things that don’t really matter. Take a minute to appreciate what you have and those whom you have been blessed with. Borrowing some lyrics from an old one: Louis Armstrong’s – ‘What a Wonderful World’.

I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom for me and you
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world!
I see skies of blue and clouds of white
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world!
The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people going by
I see friends shaking hands saying, “How do you do?”
They’re really saying, “I love you”
I hear babies cry, and I watched them grow
They’ll learn much more than I’ll ever know
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world!
Yes, I think to myself, what a wonderful world!

[What a Wonderful World lyrics © Range Road Music Inc]

Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you. [Jeremiah 32:17]

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. [Psalm 19:1]

** Thanks for reading – Take a minute and smell the roses.