Sometimes you just need to stop and stare....

Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it.

Who hasn't heard this quote from this classic movie? (Ferris Bueller's Day Off; for those of you who don't know what I'm talking about)...

There's a LOT of good advice in this quote.

I'm not suggesting to 'skip out on life' and forget your obligations, especially if there's people that are depending on you. But what happens in your life if you don't stop and look around? What happens if you just kept running on the proverbial hamster-wheel of life without stopping to look around? I've been there.

Here I am. Sitting on some comfy grass. Uncle Pete and I found a beautiful park with a pond a while back. After we walked through the forest a bit, and drained a bunch of energy, I was completely content to just sit, stop and stare. There wasn't a whole lot moving at this moment and, even if there was, I didn't really feel the need to chase after it. I just needed to stop and stare...it reminds me of another quote that I haven't heard recited in a while:

What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare. No time to stand beneath the boughs And stare as long as sheep or cows. No time to see, when woods we pass, Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass. No time to see, in broad daylight, Streams full of stars, like skies at night. No time to turn at Beauty's glance, And watch her feet, how they can dance. No time to wait till her mouth can Enrich that smile her eyes began. A poor life this if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare.

~ William Henry Davies

Sometimes you just need to stop and stare...sometimes we just need to breathe in and out, look up, around and in the remote details of our lives and reflect. Just like sheep and cows...and dogs.

I gotta say - as I've lived with humans for most of my life, I've found there's a lot of hustle and bustle you do. I know I can't type on a keyboard, drive a car, build or shape anything...frankly, there's a lot I can't do, so I'm sure all that stuff and more can get pretty taxing. In fact, I'm completely dependent on my Uncle and Auntie for food, water, comfort, etc. I'm pretty much completely dependent on them. And yet, I'm not super-stressed out about it. I just take life one day at a time.

Now, don't get me wrong, I've still got my vices. As I shared in another post, thunder comes and the ol' Anxiety Monster comes a'knockin'. That's not a fun time for me at all! Then I'm really stressed out, and it takes me quite a while to calm down during those times of fright. So, perhaps like you, I've got my stuff too...but I've learned (or learning) how to stop and stare. I know I've got to stop and look around every once in a while or I think I'll really miss out on one of the most important things of life: Living.

It's a hard confession but I think we can let life live us instead of us living life. There's SO MUCH that we can do in this life; there's SO much that we could do to make our lives happy and satisfied. But I really think the first thing we need to do is learn to stop. Maybe we need to 'make ourselves' stop. You can take this any way you want...

I take it two ways: a forceful, make or else, sort of definition (sometimes we need those hard lessons; see a future post on discipline) or a second definition, to make, as in create a space sort of make. I think it could be both in every circumstance.

What are the things that you could creatively put in place to make your life livable, special and memorable? Where are the areas that, given push came to shove, you could really re-shape a part of your life to truly make yourself lie down and 'smell the roses'?

Take it from me - it is hard, but I know it's worth it.

Sometimes we just need to stop and stare. So go ahead. Stop. Stare. Repeat.

So, until next time...

A poor life this if, full of care, we have no time to stand and stare.