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Take Time
To Notice
I
had a very special teacher in high school many years ago whose
husband unexpectedly died suddenly of a heart attack. About a
week after his death, she shared some of her insight with a classroom
of students. As the late afternoon sunlight came streaming in
through the classroom windows and the class was nearly over, she
moved a few things aside on the edge of her desk and sat down
there.
With
a gentle look of reflection on her face, she paused and said,
"Before class is over, I would like to share with all of you a
thought that is not related to class, but which I feel is very
important. Each of us is put here on earth to learn, share, love,
appreciate and give of ourselves. None of us knows when this fantastic
experience will end. It can be taken away at any moment. Perhaps
this is God's way of telling us that we must make the most out
of every single day."
Her
eyes beginning to water, she went on, "So I would like you all
to make me a promise. From now on, on your way to school, or on
your way home, find something beautiful to notice. It doesn't
have to be something you see - it could be a scent-perhaps of
freshly baked bread wafting out of someone's house, or it could
be the sound of the breeze slightly rustling the leaves in the
trees, or the way the morning light catches one autumn leaf as
it falls gently to the ground.
Please
look for these things, and cherish them. For, although it may
sound trite to some, these things are the stuff" of life. The
little things we are put here on earth to enjoy. The things we
often take for granted. We must make it important to notice them,
for at any time... it can all be taken away."
The
class was completely quiet. We all picked up our books and filed
out of the room silently. That afternoon, I noticed more things
on my way home from school than I had that whole semester.
Every
once in a while, I think of that teacher and remember what an
impression she made on all of us, and I try to appreciate all
of those things that sometimes we all overlook. Take notice of
something special you see on your lunch hour today. Go barefoot.
Or walk on the beach at sunset. Stop off on the way home tonight
to get a double-dip ice cream cone. For as we get older, it is
not the things we did that we often regret, but the things we
didn't do.
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