happiness is...

From Justine Thyme:

Have you ever watched kids playing on a merry go round
or listened to the rain lapping on the ground?
Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight
or gazed at the sun as it faded into night?
Do you run through each day on the fly?
When you ask "how are you?" do you hear the reply?
When the day is done, do you lie in your bed
with the next hundred chores running through your head?
Ever told your child "we'll do it tomorrow"
and in your haste, not see his sorrow?

When you worry and hurry through your day,
it is like an unopened gift, thrown away.
Life is not a race. Take it slower.
Hear the music before the song is over.

Too many people put off something that brings them joy just because they haven't thought about it, don't have it on their schedule, didn't know it was coming or are too rigid to depart from their routine. Because so much is crammed into our lives, we tend to schedule our headaches.. We live on the sparse diet of promises we make to ourselves when all the conditions are perfect.

But life has a way of accelerating as we get older. The days get shorter, and the list of promises to ourselves gets longer. One morning, we awaken, and all we have to show for our lives is a litany of "I'm going to," "I plan on," and "someday, when things are settled down a bit."

Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here, we might as well dance!