Savor the Moment

The 21st Century is now 15 years old. Do you remember your first 15 years—well, perhaps not your first 3 or 4 years, yet surely you remember the remaining 10 years or so? It seemed like a lifetime to reach 15. Actually, it is a lifetime for a 15-year-old.

Perhaps that’s why the years, months and even weeks seem to drag on and on. I remember when Christmas vacation (and it was called Christmas vacation back then) began. It was a week before Christmas and there were already a few Christmas gifts under the tree. After just a day home from school, I begged my mom to let me open just one little gift. She finally relented, but then I had to wait for a few more days before I could open the rest of the gifts. Oh, how I suffered through the torment of having to wait a few short days until Christmas.

The next 15 years is generally a bit shorter, but still a long journey. For me, it included 3 more years of high school and 6 years of college. I finally married when I was 29. Looking back, I have memories, yet I didn’t savor the moments of triumphs and successes. It appears that most of us in the 2nd 15 years and going into the 3rd 15 years are too busy with a career and raising a family to take time to enjoy the moments in our life’s journeys. And then as we go through our 3rd and 4th 15 years, we begin to savor our moments, but time seems to slip by so much quicker. No longer is a week a long time. In fact, a week seems to fly by like a day.

Now in my 5th 15 years, the last 15 years has slipped by so fast that the year 2000 seems like last year. If, God willing, I’m fortunate to reach my 6th and even 7th 15 years, I can only imagine how quickly time will flash past.

So, wherever you are in your life, take time to savor the moments and smell the roses. Savor not only the good times in your life, but also the difficult times. Don’t dwell on the difficult times and get stuck there. Instead, learn from the difficult times and recognize them as stepping-stones to growth in your life’s journey.

Don’t attempt to rush through your life because, if you make it to the 5th 15 years, you will come to realize that life is short and too precious to simply wander through it. Like in the song, “earth”, which includes, “To take each moment and live each moment with peace eternally,” I encourage you to savor each moment and to live each moment as if there is no tomorrow. And by golly, even if we can’t find peace on earth, we can find peace within ourselves.

Happy, joyful, and a very peaceful New Year and in all future years.