“Life is short.”
“Savor today.”
“Time flies.”
“They won’t be little long.”
“It’s 5 o’clock somewhere.”
“3 days until the weekend!”
We have all heard it before.
But have we believed it? What do we do about it? How many of us have told ourselves “I’ll do that tomorrow.” or “Maybe we can do that another time.” “I just have to suck it up a few more days, weeks, months, years….THEN I can do it, enjoy it, relax, be happy.” “Ugh, it’s Monday again. Just 5 more days til happiness returns.”
Do you (or your children) have the “special outfits” hanging in the closet waiting for the right occasion? How many of those clothes have your children outgrown before they got to wear the outfit more than once? How many times have you let an outfit go out of style before you got to wear it only because you were saving it?
I know someone who has a really nice TV room. A pretty sweet set up actually- but watches an older model in a different room because they don’t want to put the hours on the good TV. REALLY!?!?! Really.
People in my office come and tell me they’re stuck in bad relationships because it isn’t the right time to leave. They don’t like their jobs and are miserable but are staying at that job because now isn’t the time to leave. Some are just waiting out time in an unhealthy marriage until they can afford to financially leave. People have strained relationships with children, parents, spouses, employers. They stuff feelings down instead of sharing them because they’re waiting for the right time. They develop bad habits and addictions to cover the real pain they’re feeling. People are postponing living their lives to the fullest, waiting for the “right time”.
Let me tell you – NOW is the right time.
Today is the day. It’s yours to live. It’s yours to breathe, enjoy, relish, savor. It won’t come again. The child who wakes you up every night at 3 a.m. to crawl in your bed will someday stop doing that. This may be your last snuggle with them in the middle of the night. (They do eventually stop doing that and turn into teens you can’t get out of bed!) The relationship that you want to fix but are waiting for the right time to reach out – we never know if tomorrow is a promise. That person may pass or move away before you find the words to say what you want to say to heal the bond. The special outfit your daughter begs to wear but it’s art day at school…..she may outgrow it before the right event happens.
Go.
Fully live.
Watch the good TV.
Put on the fancy dress.
Dance in the rain.
Play in the mud.
Eat dinner on the good china just because!
Find the joy in today – and every day. It doesn’t have to be major. It may be the smallest of details (i.e. a warm breeze as you walk to your car after work) or it may be the largest of blessings (i.e. the test came back and wasn’t malignant as expected.)
What are you waiting for…..I challenge you that by waiting….you’re not living to your potential. You’re not living the way you were created to live.
Life is too short to wait for the perfect moment. Instead of waiting for perfection, find the perfection in every moment. Today is your day. Whatever you’re waiting for…..stop waiting and start doing.