Day 88 - Stop and look around.

The older I get the more I realize how the hours slip by unnoticed, and the days just don't feel as long as they once were, by the time you get home and eat dinner and shower you are too exhausted to even pick up a book and read.

It wasn't long ago that I noticed how beautiful the sky and sunsets are every day, and that I’ve been way too caught up in the whirlwind of my life to stop and appreciate the beauty; instead I had been miserable day after day sitting in traffic, stressed to arrive at my next destination. Have you ever noticed how mesmerizing the sky is, and how captivating the sunsets are? Every single day the sky’s colors change surprising us with something more incredible than the day before.

In this day and era it seems like life is a race. Everything is fast; there's fast food, the fast lane, cellphones. Everybody is in a hurry to get to work, then while at work in a hurry to finish so that they can go home, everyone lives for the weekend, on Monday they are counting down until Friday; and then you wonder why time is flying by.

We are always on the go, don't look back just look forward; appointment books and day planners filled, late for this, late for that, always on the run, reminding yourself to breathe once in a while.

Ferris Bueller was right when he said "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." Today, stop and look at the beautiful, wonderful world around you. Watch people. Look at the wind blowing through the leaves. See the look on faces as they sing or play or laugh or enjoy an ice-cream. Look into eyes; see the way eyes communicate without words. Look at the sky and it’s beautiful ever changing colors.

This past July 4th there was a fatal boat accident in Miami, Florida; the accident took the lives of four extremely young individuals, one happened to be a classmates from high school's little sister, she was only 24 years old; the others were 20 and 23. I'm pretty sure those four young lives didn't think when they woke up that morning that it was their last day on earth, I am also sure that they wish they would give anything just to have one more day to look around and say their goodbyes. Tomorrow is never promised, so make it a point to stop and look around once in a while. 

Today, I stopped and looked at the sunset and as I do every single day, I fell in love with the sky all over again.

 

 

Day 87 - Wait a beat before responding.

I've always been one to say the first thing that comes into my mind; I'm a debater, which is not always a good thing because sometimes I end up speaking faster than my brain could stop me. I've been doing yoga now for over two years and I have learned so many amazing things, one of the things I've learned is practicing mindfulness and being present.

When I read today's deed I already knew what the lesson was - slowing down and thinking about things carefully before making a decision or even before responding to someone. Learning to press pause means listening and assimilating before opening my mouth. Today, while going through my day there were times where I wanted to voice out loud my thoughts right away, but instead I would press pause and once I allowed myself to think about it I realized it didn't need to be said at all.

There are many reasons why you should wait a beat before responding, but one of the main reasons is that words have power. People can be pretty careless when it comes to choosing the words that come out of their mouths. According to Psychology Today, words cannot change reality, but they can change how people perceive reality. Words create filters through which people view the world around them and a single word can make the difference between liking a person and disliking that person.

We have a choice every day to use our words to cut or heal. Every time we speak we have a choice, either to make others feel great - or horrible. With that power comes the responsibility and obligation to use it wisely. Words not only effect us temporarily, they can actually change us. Today, wait a beat before responding and use that beat to use your words wisely.♥