It's Only Too Late If You Don't Start Living Now..
Remember when summer seemed to last forever? My mother use to
say that some day we would realize just how fast time goes by.
As usual, my mother was right.
It's not that time has sped up but that our relationship to time
has changed. We no longer have the perspective of time from a
child's point of view. After living some 40 plus years, we
realize that in the grand scheme of things the length of our
lives can be measured in the blink of any eye. All the more
reason to be conscious about choosing how we spend our time and
live our lives.
If you've heard the news lately, it's been like listening to an
old 45 record with a scratch in it. The bad news keeps playing
over and over: gas prices are soaring, people are losing their
jobs, we may all get sick with the Flu next year, and the war in
Iraq goes on.
This repetitive onslaught of bad news has a spellbinding and
paralyzing effect on us. We start to believe and act accordingly
to what we are told. We even begin telling ourselves that this
isn't the right time to start a new business, leave a job, go
back to school, or move. Then the "what ifs" start chiming in.
What if I lose my job? What if I can't find another job? What if
I get sick? What if I can't pay my bills?
This is what fear is designed to do: keep us from moving
forward, from taking risks, and settling for mediocrity.
Yes, there will always be a reason why you can't do something.
The question is, are you going to let that stop you?
In the play, Steel Magnolia's, the character Shelby suffers from
brittle diabetes. She wants desperately to have a baby knowing
that she is risking her health and going against medical advice.
To her, having the opportunity is worth the risk. She says: "I'd
rather live 30 minutes of wonderful than a lifetime of nothing
special."
What would 30 minutes of wonderful look like to you at this time
in your life? Take a piece of paper and write down what
immediately comes to your mind. Maybe it comes to you in a word,
an image or a feeling. If you find yourself staring at a blank
sheet of paper, I will guarantee that if you hang that piece of
paper on the wall, every time you walk by it, you will be
motivated to fill in the blank space with your answer.
And, when you think about it, if you can create 30 minutes of
wonderful then isn't it possible to create a lifetime that is
something special?
It's only too late if you don't start living now.
copyright, 2005 Nancy D. Bishop