Life Happens So Quickly and Then It's Almost Gone.

While we are young, everything seems to take forever. We have an "are we there yet" and "when is my turn" attitude about everything. Some of us develop our compulsive impatient impulsive approach to life as children and fail to grow out of it as young adults. There is a growing community of earthlings who have not learned how to slow down, pause, take a few moments, and wait.

When we mature and get older, some of us wonder where did the time go. Years seem to pass by too quickly. A week long vacation seems like a day trip. And the memories we start to build as we learn what love, loyalty, friendship, and family really is about seem to be fleeting. One day you are enjoying a day at a family gathering at the park, on the patio cooking out with friends, or at a wedding or baptism, and the next day you hear someone is gone. Just like that, the person you enjoyed laughing at your jokes or telling you how proud they are of your accomplishments is gone. 

Let's live, breathe, and make moves on a daily basis while you are still in school, at work, or during your day in and out of retirement to be more intentional. We need to deliberately tell the earthlings that are around us that we appreciate them. If you are not a person who says to folks outside of your family "I love you," tell your friends and associates too, " You know what; you are alright with me. Take good care." 

At my former place of employment which spanned 11 years, I made a habit of smiling and paying a genuine compliment to the individuals I worked with. For some folks, they remained neutral and unaffected, but there were others who over time softened and were mutually as positive. I thought about how contagious that became as it began at the entrance of the building and I was consistent to share a smile with the folks who worked on my floor and occasionally, when I had interactions with folks on the third floor it spread throughout the building. Before I took the offer to move to another campus, folks who would barely acknowledge me during my first years at Western would return a greeting, a smile, and sometimes a compliment. Let's be deliberate about putting positivity into the universe. Life does feel too short. A smile costs us nothing and the benefits to mental health, physical wellness, and true happiness are endless.