I lost another dear friend last week. After he was laid to rest, my thoughts ran to what all I should have done while he was still here. I should have gone to that conference we all attend so that I could have caught up with him and our other friends. I should have emailed or called him more often. When we were together, I should have paid more attention … the list goes on.
Too often, my work and the everyday of my life take control. When friends say, “Let’s go to lunch,” I don’t always go. When I have opportunities to smell the roses, I sometimes keep on walking. So, my question is, “Why do I do that?” Will I take my work and the everyday with me when I pass on? No. Remember the scene in Ghost when Patrick Swayze tells Demi Moore that “The love inside, you take it with you.” And, that’s all you take. So where am I going with this? I’ve never forgotten Robert Herrick’s poem that I read in college.
GATHER ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old time is still a-flying :
And this same flower that smiles to-day
To-morrow will be dying.
Now, granted, Herrick wrote this playful poem to virgins. But it has all kinds of interpretations. For me, it means simply to live each day to the fullest. Live it as if it is your last. It may be. Don’t pass the opportunities to be with friends and loved ones because you let the everyday “stuff” prevent you from taking time to smell the roses when it is important.
Til next time,
Carol
Too often, my work and the everyday of my life take control. When friends say, “Let’s go to lunch,” I don’t always go. When I have opportunities to smell the roses, I sometimes keep on walking. So, my question is, “Why do I do that?” Will I take my work and the everyday with me when I pass on? No. Remember the scene in Ghost when Patrick Swayze tells Demi Moore that “The love inside, you take it with you.” And, that’s all you take. So where am I going with this? I’ve never forgotten Robert Herrick’s poem that I read in college.
GATHER ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old time is still a-flying :
And this same flower that smiles to-day
To-morrow will be dying.
Now, granted, Herrick wrote this playful poem to virgins. But it has all kinds of interpretations. For me, it means simply to live each day to the fullest. Live it as if it is your last. It may be. Don’t pass the opportunities to be with friends and loved ones because you let the everyday “stuff” prevent you from taking time to smell the roses when it is important.
Til next time,
Carol
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