Transformative Thursdays: Stop and Smell the Roses

October 15, 2015

1–2 minutes

I was reminded this week of how we can so easily get caught up in the busyness of life. We find ourselves going 90 MPH and sometimes not accomplishing much. We miss out on the smell of the roses, the sounds of the birds chirping and the majesty of a gorgeous sunset. We rush past those who merely need a smile from our lips that are busy on the phone talking non-sense. We spend hours in front of a television set watching shows that are of little benefit to us when we could be spending quality moments with our children. We miss such sweet moments every day as the cares of this life keep us spinning in endless cycles. When a loved one suddenly passes away or our spouse files for divorce because we have neglected his/her needs, we are quickly given a “reality check”. What really matters? Do we value people enough to spend an extra moment encouraging someone who is on the verge of suicide? Do we take the time to ask someone how they are doing and wait patiently for their response even if it means being late for little league practice? Are we willing to go out of the way to help someone even if it inconveniences us? Is it more important to rush from one activity to another checking things off our “to do list” rather than being present in the moment? If you don’t do anything else today, take a moment and stop. Look at the beautiful sky. Catch up with a friend you haven’t talked to in months. Plan a special evening for your spouse. Take your children to a ball game and sit with them the whole time. Be present. Be intentional. Relationships are important. Make the choice to cultivate relationships and invest in people. Stop and smell the roses.

~Coletta Jones Patterson

2 responses to “Transformative Thursdays: Stop and Smell the Roses”

Marta C. Youngblood

October 15, 2015 at 7:04 am

Years ago I made a conscious decision to take fewer pictures. I had noticed just prior to making this decision that I was creating a stress cloud around myself snapping photos of everything I cooked or photo checking myself into every place I traveled to… I don’t remember how I got to the point when I was so addicted to “capturing the moment” that I would have a major freak out if I didn’t have my charger cord and my camera phone went dead. Social media present the opportunity for me to also feel pressured and stressed to always be “on”. I didn’t like how that felt and I made the decision to check myself to make sure I was taking time to be fully present in my life. That’s easier said than done for a planner. We default into “what’s next” mode. And now that I think about it, taking all of those pictures was probably connected to that because if I have pictures, I have something to look back on if I ever slowed down and catch up on what I missed.

I have a tendency to live entirely too fast.

One defense against that is to walk whenever possible. And I do mean walk, not jog or run. It helps me take time to sort thru my hyperactive brain.

I’ve also learned to pack fewer things into a day. If I’m ending every day feeling like failure then something is truly wrong.

I share responsibility for things more and I’m learning how to choose wisely the people I work with on projects. I value colleagues I can count on though I still have to remind myself not to come too hard sometimes because not everyone sees things the same way I do.

Many say this but I’m also learning the necessity of saying “no” even to good causes. If buying something for your fundraiser is going to put me in a position where I can’t pay my bills then I’m sorry but I have to be a good steward. If serving on a committee for your organization puts me in a position where I am neglecting my husband, nope, can’t do it. If you’re bringing me your complaints constantly but you never follow thru on the advise that I share with you on how to address those challenges, I’m not going to keep investing large sums of time repeating myself with you. That’s actually a HUGE pet peeve with me.

I’m in a season where I am hyper aware of the things that can trigger me into a “busy mode” and out of my “fully living mode”. I think we all can stand to slow down from time to time and evaluate what things in our lives could be pruned to allow more time for the things of importance.

Thanks for sharing this, Coletta!

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1. 14christalone
  
  October 15, 2015 at 3:41 pm
  
  Whereas Marta things she lives too fast, sometimes I feel like I live entirely too slow, and watch as life passes me by. This sis something that I want to fix, because a boring life is no life at all. I blame it on having 4 kids, and a full schedule, but there are things that we can do. Thank you for your post!
  
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