In Life

Toddlers and young children are always on the move, never wanting to stop. They go through each day with more enthusiasm than a grown up can ever imagine and they never tire. They coast hopefully through their early years with no real trouble, and usually with a smile on their faces. Children seem to have something about them that we as adults lost somewhere along the road. They have the ability to forgive quickly, not really worry about things and get frustrated over things, and just enjoy the simple things in life, while never taking them for granted. They never hold grudges and never hold resentments against someone, and if for some strange reason they do, they are playing and interacting with them the next day on the playground.

A recent experience

Seeing my two daughters jump up and down on their beds first thing in the morning, screaming with happiness and great big smiles on their faces, I often wondered what they were smiling and happy about.  They were just excited about the dawning of a new day. They were happy to embrace a new day and could not wait to start it! That is where I thought to myself…Why can’t adults behave like this? When did we lose this buzz for life? How can we get it back and keep it?

We need to seize the day

Too many times as adults, we forget how to live our lives happily and the days seem to slip by. Sometimes people tend to mope around over a variety of things that are out of their control like the weather or even something as silly as someone talking about them at the local pub. Sometimes, people live not just one day like this, but many. They do not know that they cannot get that day or days back… Ever! They repeatedly sob and sulk and in the interim, try to bring others to their level. We are not on this earth to be miserable. We are on it for other reasons: To take each day and make the best out of it. To face new challenges and grow from them! To share our joy and happiness in the event that someone else will be infected by it. We and our emotions are contagious to the people that surround us. Like children, we need to seize the day. We are not on this earth for infinity, but only for a short time.

In life

The following is a list of proverbs for life by Fr Brian Cavanagh that I have by my bedside that I read to encourage me to to be the best I can with the life I have.

“In life we are to encourage and build up each other; not to discourage and tear down one another. In life we are to add, not subtract; to multiply, not divide. In life we are to smooth out the rough roads along the journey; not create new potholes. In life we are to sing a joyful song; not just drone a groan. In life we are to add our harmonious strains to life’s symphony; not strain the symphony with clatter and clang. In life we are to soar on eagles’ wings, not to peck and cluck with our beaks in the dirt like chickens. In life are to radiate light into unseen places; not permit unknown fears to dim our radiance. In life we are leap in faith; not to limp with doubt. In life we are to give freely of our time, our love, our resources; not to cling on to them greedily.

In life we are lift up others; not push them down. In life we are to open our hands to those in need; not to clutch our hands in fists of distrust. In life we are to lend a helping hand to make loads lighter; not use heavy hands to hold others back. In life we are to be messengers of peace, signs of joy; not Chicken Little portents of gloom-n-gloom. In life we are to enjoy, to savour, to remember, to reflect; not to overlook, to forget, to ignore, to reject. In life we are to seek conscious awareness; not doze in the doldrums of half-awake. In life we are to dare mighty things; not to fear things gravely. In life we are to show up, stand up, step forward and speak up; not to cringe in fear, choosing to sit down, or to step back, allowing the voices of silence to speak so loudly. In life we are to exercise proper stewardship of earth’s resources; not pillage the heritage of future generations.

In life we are to move forward through forgiveness; not gring to a halt mired in bitterness and resentment. In life we are to be wacky, weird, and wonderful in our own unique God-given way; not to be staid-n-proper lemmings, stuck on life’s treadmill. In life we are to reach, to stretch, and to soar; not to slink in fear; held back by mistrust and doubt. In life we are to realise: I am a remarkable Somebody! an Anybody! In life we are to comprehend I am worthwhile, not tremble with feelings of worthlessness. In life are to create, to laugh, and to live life nobly; not to despair, to moan, or to live life less.”

Thought for the week

As your thought for the week, go back to when you were a child and live without the troublesome melancholy that can seem to swallow you up at times. Life comes at you very fast and when it does, you have to be ready. Before you know it, your children will have children and your time on this earth will be coming to an end.