Is it really possible to rediscover the joy, that carefree attitude that most of us remember from our childhood? Nothing in adult life is fashioned to encourage us to take pleasure in the simple things in life anymore. Should we? More importantly, could we even if we wanted to?
I had not loved enough. I’d been busy, busy, so busy, preparing for life, while life floated by me, quiet and swift as a regatta. –Lorene Cary.
How quickly time passes, doesn't it? It seems only yesterday that I was sixteen and planning for the future. Thoughts of university, work, boyfriends and whether my friends really were my friends filled my adolescent head. That was over twenty five years ago and it's passed in the blink of an eye.
If I think back over my life to when I was young, pondering all my hopes and dreams for the future, they seem so simplistic and idealistic now. I wanted love, happiness and security. I thought that by the time I was thirty, which then seemed so old, everything in my life would be perfect.
Of course, life never runs as smoothly as that. Many trials and tribulations seem to seek to thwart us and weigh us down.We lose sight of the hopes and dreams that we held for our future just by getting on with our daily lives. So much time is spent at work, home and on the family, organizing, planning, dealing with small and not so small crises when they arise. One day we turn round and what was once a fire in our belly is now realization that it turned to ashes because we forgot to tend to it.
But phoenix-like, we can rise again. Free will is a double edged sword. The choices that we made in life, of our own free will, that diminished those hopes and dreams, are in the past now. We can choose differently at any given moment.
Regret for those choices is a waste of time and emotion I feel, because they were the only ones we could have made at that particular moment. Even what we may have perceived as ‘bad’ choices at a later date, were still our conscious choices….that’s why we chose them then, at that time, because they seemed the ‘right’ thing to do. They weren’t bad choices, they were just choices.
We can use that same free will to decide to do it differently. Today, now, in the present. Spend time on yourself, doing what you want to help you realize those hopes and dreams, rather that what you feel you ‘must’.
It’s a question of perception. There are no "must"s, just our own interpretation of our priorities. Too often it takes a crisis in our lives for us to recognize that and really see clearly how much time we have wasted on the mundane. Life is for living and loving, not just a way to pass the hours until we run out of it. No one can be sure of how much time they have, so it makes sense to live life to the full in all its glory.
A day out-of- doors, someone I loved to talk with, a good book and some simple food and music — that would be rest. –Eleanor Roosevelt
We can gain much pleasure from the simple things in life, as we did as children.Take time to stop and smell the roses. Show love to your family and friends and be sure to tell them. Be kind to all that you meet.
We don’t need to wait for the crisis to happen to decide to live life in a more peaceful, contented way. We can choose to do it today. Appreciate, acknowledge, and be thankful for every day.
He has achieved success who has lived well, laughed often, and loved much . . . who has filled his niche and accomplished his task; who has left the world better than he found it, whether an improved poppy, a perfect poem, or a rescued soul. –Bessie Anderson Stanley
I said at the beginning that I look back at how I felt when I was young and think it was simplistic. On further reflection, I don’t. I think it was right. It was my pure thoughts before I was tainted by ‘normal life’. The competitiveness, the greed, the deceit, the manipulation that are seen as acceptable to most.
If that’s normal life, I’d rather choose to discard it and live again as a child, in the days where nothing was impossible and achieving hopes and dreams was a certainty, not a dim memory.
Make today a day for family. Live it as a child. Spend more time with the kids and grandkids than in the kitchen, forget about the dishes for a while and enjoy just being around your loved ones. Choose to step away from any conflict you see arising and remember how blessed you are to have family and friends in your life when so many are alone. Recall good times instead.
Today is a great day to shape memories, have fun and share love and laughter.
Kay's articles, musings and poetry have appeared in both internet and
print publications over the years. She writes on a variety of subjects and you never quite know where her mind will wander. Kay loves to hear from fellow writers! You'll find her slaving over a hot
keyboard at her blog, Hill Holler, or editing The Cuckleburr Times, an online magazine for writers of all experience levels - created by writers, for writers. Submissions are most welcome there. Please feel free to reprint any of Kay's articles. All she asks in return is you include this bio exactly as it is.
The author of this article has chosen to make this article available with free reprint rights. Click here to copy this article.
» left by David Tanguay (1 year 255 days ago.)
Kay, I went to check out your (Bio) In this article you sound like an old wise woman. But I see your only approaching 40, In your bio. you say you enjoy feedback, so I thought I'd give you some positive feedback by telling you I enjoyed your words of wisdom very much. thanks for sharing Respond to this comment
» left by Kay Elizabeth(1,715) Kay Elizabeth (1 year 255 days ago.)
I'm 41, David, didn't begin writing until about oh..roughly three years ago though. :)
As for sounding like a wise old woman, thank you! I believe sincerely in what I write and put a lot of thought into my words. Actually, sometimes it feels like someone up there is helping me write certain pieces and this is one of them, where it just flowed. Hard to explain but it's fine by me! :)
Thanks so much for the feedback, I do indeed like to read it! Good or bad, it helps me improve my writing. :) Respond to this comment
» left by Steve Radford(779) Steve Radford (1 year 255 days ago.)
Most people make some bad choices and chase things that don't ultimately satisfy them before they begin to see the truth that you expressed so nicely. I especially like the way you allow for reversals and hope. Respond to this comment
» left by Kay Elizabeth(1,715) Kay Elizabeth (1 year 255 days ago.)
Thank you for your kind words, Steve! I think we all have to have hope and the ability to reflect and learn from what's gone before ... it's all part of life's journey. I know I've made some choices that I look back on and shake my head now, that's for sure! But then all these life experiences shape us into the person we are today, so it's all as it should be. :) Thanks again! Respond to this comment
» left by James P Krehbiel (591) (1 year 255 days ago.)
Kay,
These are wonderful words about the urgency of living life to the fullest. I like what you say about choices, and not looking back with regret. I suppose they are all part of the fabric of our life. You have eloquently stated the truth about living in the moment and enjoying our loved ones. Thank you. Respond to this comment
» left by Kay Elizabeth(1,715) Kay Elizabeth (1 year 254 days ago.)
Thank you, James, your comments much appreciated! :) I feel that we can spend all our days on "could have been", but it won't change anything, so why not focus on the now and what possibilities lie ahead. :) Respond to this comment
» left by Sandra E. Graham from Paragould, Ar (1 year 255 days ago.)
A beautiful, well written article. Touched me deeply. Soft and soothing, it read like your "Be Still" plays. You do such good work. Respond to this comment
» left by Kay Elizabeth(1,715) Kay Elizabeth (1 year 254 days ago.)
You're too kind, Sandra...thank you for taking the time to make such a nice comment. So glad you enjoyed Be Still! I just do what I can when I can. :)
(If anyone else would like to hear the relaxation piece Be Still, just send me a message via my profile and I'll gladly email it to you. It's written and narrated by me and I share it freely.) Respond to this comment
» left by Avis Ward(11,479) Avis Ward (1 year 252 days ago.)
Kay Elizabeth, I'm in complete agreement with David, Steve, James and Sandra. You wrote a lovely article filled with wisdom and spiritual insight. It flowed beautifully and spoke to the child in all of us; it spoke to the soul. Yes indeed, you had divine guidance as you wrote it. :) Thank you! Respond to this comment
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