Sometimes We Just Need To Slow Down Long Enough to Smell the Roses

Recently I got to spend some time with a very beautiful, dear, and amazing friend. This pretty flower has a gift in leadership ability, and not only does she live it, however she teaches it in her life by the example she sets for others to gain something new and fresh and also to follow. I most certainly learned something new about my self by being around her, just as I am sure that anyone who gets around her becomes better. She flows with positive energy, and she is electric when you are near her. She truly is poetry in motion, and as I watched her up close and personal, I can confidently say, she never wavered once.

She was very attentive of my life and life style, and I thought "WOW"? Here is someone who has the ability to be a true giver in every since of the word “GIVE”.  I was treated like royalty, and now as I sit and think back over the last three days, I am starting to understand why I was treated so well by this amazing beautiful goddess. The reason is, it is who she is! She is a real life princess, as a matter of fact people in her circle even refer to her as Cinderella, and justifiably so, as it would ring true that only a princess, would know how to treat a man like a prince. My sweet beautiful friend did just that. I felt like I was in the middle of a three day fairytale? Being around her was magical and spiritual all at the same time. She has truly left me breathless and amazed, in utter awe, shock and wonder all at the same time.

She is most certainly the person I would want to be trapped on a deserted island with.  I was completely blown away by her generosity, kindles, love for people, compassion for others, manners, and most of all her beauty both inside and out. The entire time we were together she was telling me to just slow down, and take life a little slower, and if you know me she was dead on point. I run around like a chicken with my head cut off!  I am in the middle of trying to put book deals together for my books, speaking events for my career, making the time to try my best at being a father to my kids, building stronger relationships with my friends and family, grow closer to God, deal with on going storms that blow into my life and simply just live. She noticed that my life was running at 100 miles per hour, and she helped me to understand that I was moving way to fast, and that I needed to slow down and smell the roses.  
 

 
She showed me that sometimes we get so caught up with perfection and everything running smoothly that we miss out on peace and lessons learned. As for me, I am learning to live in "The here, and the Now", by building relationships, having learned from a broken experience, enjoying the moment and most of all, making my memorys.  Sometimes I feel like my life is so full of ciaos, there are so many of my days that become a friendly gathering at my home and gets turned into a Martha Stewart frenzy of cleaning and cooking up special events and recipes for life.  There are times of late that I am just glad to spend quality time and build on relationships with my family and friends, because I simply just do not have that kind of time these days? This is why the time I just got to spend with Cinderella was simply awesome and amazing all at the same time. I loved being around her! Once again I was reminded that there are no dress rehearsals in life. We just wake up, put our feet on the ground, throw caution to the wind and start moving with the expectation that everything is going to be ok.  It's funny, most of us are so blessed and we act as if our problems are so big? Yet there are people out there right now today who are fighting for their lives. Many terminally I'll people, when reviewing their life, talk about the regret of missing out on experiences and wasting time with those they loved. Their job, money, degrees, offered no comfort in the end. The significance of people, experiences and love, and the appreciation of the ‘little things’ ( http://www.amazon.com/Just-Little-Things-Don-Bolena/dp/1439228086/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1347383846&sr=8-1&keywords=don+bolena+jr#_ ) is what seems to give us the most fulfillment in life.

 

I know we have all heard the expression to” stop and smell the roses.” Most of us know that this is not related to actually “smelling the roses.” It is more of a reminder to stop rushing, stop working so much and that time passes so quickly. It is a gentle reminder to stop and enjoy the day, the moment and the minute. Every minute that you miss, is time lost and will not return to you again. Our lives have become so busy and hectic. This seems so ironic because technology has actually made our lives easier. We should actually have more free time today thanks to technological advances. If you are not clicking away, you are surfing the web, googling the nearest movie listings. Most of us have the 8 hour work day, weekends off, vacation time. Then what is making all of us so busy is that we forget to “smell the roses”?

Many of us enjoy doing a-lot of different things. Yet there are times when we know that we don’t always enjoy being busy. I know that there are times when my schedule gets filled up. I feel as though I have lost apart of me. It is very easy to get caught up in a riptide of doing without evaluating what you are sacrificing. Sometimes it is worth it, but you may have to make some minor adjustments to enjoy the journey more. Other times you may need to make some major changes to experience happiness you might think you are chasing. You see here is my point; As for me, my LIFE must have PURPOSE let others lead small lives, but not me, let others argue over the small things, but not me, let others cry over small hurts, but not me, and let others leave their future in someone else's hands, but not me. I would advise you to trust yourself, and then you will know how to live. You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore. When one door of happiness closes, another door opens; and often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has opened for us. We must always strive to do the right thing. This is how we will gratify some people and astonish the rest. It is our choices that show who we truly are, far more than our abilities. As far as my career, I have the attitude that I'm not afraid, because I am very aware that my attitude is what raises my altitude! I was BORN for this! Whatever we are willing to put up with is exactly what we will be in this life. We are who and what we imagine, and our very existence consists in our imagination of ourselves. The greatest tragedy that can be-fall us is to go un-imagined. There is a fire that burns inside of my soul. I choose to sit down beside it, and watch the flames, the ancient, and the flickering dance of my-self. My destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for; it is a thing to be achieved. I have always known that at last I would take this road, but yesterday I had no idea, that I would be traveling down it today? There is no chance, no destiny, and no fate that can circumvent or hinder or control the firm resolve of my determined soul. My life is most certainly not discovery of fate; it is continuous creation of my future, through my choices of my thoughts, my feelings and my actions, that show up in my present and my future. I was born an original, dare I should die a copy? Is life not a hundred times too short for us to stifle ourselves? There is only one real failure in life that is possible, and that is not to be true to the best of one's self. The pen that is writing my life story is being held in my own hand and my own heart, and every choice before me represents the Lord inviting me to remember who I am and what I want. I grow weary often for not doing the things I want to do as of doing the things I do not want to do. Out of my life of clutter, I find simplicity, and from my discord, I find harmony. In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity. Nothing truly valuable arises from ambition or from a mere sense of duty; it stems rather from love and devotion towards others and towards objective things. For me, to serve is a beautiful thing, and my sweet frined Cinderella, serves with out effort, only proving that service is done with joy and a whole heart. How do we keep our inner fire alive? Two things, at minimum, are needed: an ability to appreciate the positives in our life, and a commitment to action. Let him who would enjoy a good future waste none of his present. The path to our destination is not always a straight one. There are times that we will go down the wrong road, and we may even get lost, and we have to turn back. Maybe it doesn't matter which road we embark on, as long as we have the courage to embark. It takes amazing inner strength to faithfully follow what we know to be true. Our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become. There are several ways that we can slow down to stop and smell the roses. I would like to share a few ways to slow down and enjoy your time;

 

1) Take time to spend quality time with your friends or family. Plan for a bike ride, a walk to the park or a day at the beach. Enjoy the day with the people you love.

 

2) Remember special dates (birthdays, anniversaries, special days). Track special days so that you can take time out of your day to reach out to someone to show that you care enough to remember.

 

3) Make a special dinner for the family. Family time together at the dinner table is very healthy. Make the occasion even more special by planning a special menu. This is a great opportunity to try a new recipe with your loved ones.

 

4) Laugh together. Research has shown that the health benefits of laughter are far-ranging. Laughter has show to help relieve pain, bring greater happiness, and even increase immunity. Laughter is a way that we connect with people. Laughter is contagious, so spread the virus.

 

5) Savor and share the moments with pictures. The moment goes just as fast as it came. Enjoy the moments by taking pictures and sharing with family and friends. I remember when my children were smaller they used to play outside, particularly in the summers months.

 

As I am writing this I am thinking about my kids. I can remember that there were times that my three kids were so carefree and didn’t care about time, money or technology. They enjoyed the moments without thinking about what was ahead for them. Maybe if we were more child-like we would live a fuller life. We can always seize the moment and cherish these days with pictures and videos. The thing here for me is the principle and not the purpose. I must slow down a little and remember to stop and smell the roses because they will not always be there. They will soon wilt and be gone forever. Perhaps you want to stop and savor not just the roses, but also all of the flowers in Gods beautiful garden? So you see, my sweet friend has taught me a new great lesson in life, and that is this; if we really want to live, then we must truly take the time to "slow down and smell the roses". Because why I was with her I did do just that, and she is most certainly a very beautiful rose her self, and when I stopped long enough to smell her, I was able to notice that she smelled every bit as good as she looks, and believe me when I tell you this, she looks really, really, good each and every day; after all she is a princess, she is “Cinderella” ~ Donnie Bolena