I Shall Pass This Way But Once...
Last Things
We're a very busy society. We work hard, we play hard, we are distracted by the rapid pace of life and we seldom take time to smell the roses. But, one thing that I have observed is that once something is gone, it's usually gone forever. And only after it's gone does one realize the value, the worth of the item, person or place that was so often taken for granted.
Most often we are unaware of the last times, the last time that you kissed your child when he was still a child, the last time that you ran out of your house, letting the screen door slam to go and play with your friends, before the house was sold and you moved away, the last time you kissed your lover before the relationship went south or he or she died.
Yes, we seldom see it coming. But, if you did see it coming you might take the time to indelibly impress upon your memory the pleasures of the moment, you might consciously remember the little things that make life worth living. We are so busy dying that we seldom take time to live. Rush, rush, rush that's what we do, we rush towards death. We rush about to get the kids off to school, we rush to work so that we appear to be valuable and can retain our positions, we rush to the store, to the doctors, to make dinner. We rush through life and in the rush we often neglect to truly live.
The opposite of love is not hate, the opposite of love is apathy and neglect. Only when you live life purposefully, appreciating every little wonderful thing will you live life to the fullest. Kiss your baby while he or she is still a baby, once they are grown they are grown forever, enjoy it when they cry and when they are messy and when they laugh. Hold your lover like it's the last time you will ever see them, because it just might be, don't take them for granted, ignore the stupid little things in favor of the beautiful wonderful things. Appreciate the taste of your mother's recipes and your favorite bistro for who knows what tomorrow will bring and if you will ever taste those things again. People die, businesses close, time marches on so we must live life purposefully savoring every bit and piece, nook and cranny, blue sky and stormy day and you will never die with regret. As someone once wrote: "I shall pass this way but once; any good therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show - let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again."
Additional articles by Brie Hoffman
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Most people turn to suicide in order to escape difficult emotions and/or circumstances, but what if the experience after death is even worse? Don't exchange temporary problems for a permanent prison. - How to deal with Teenage Depression.
Being a teenager can be hard, being the parent of a teenager can be even harder. Here are some tips on how to deal with teenage depression. - Atheism: Does God Exist?
There are really only two possibilities either God exists or he doesn't...Quite simple really. Personally, I think that all great truths are really very simple but that's another story. Either God exists... - How to Make People Happy
Happiness is a universal goal. We all want to be happy and usually surround ourselves with people who do make us happy, or at least we try. There are several things you can do to make others happy. I have... - Never Give In, Never Give In, Never Give In
Winston Churchill wrote: Never Give In, Never Give In, Never Give In at a point in British History when all seemed lost. The Brits were up against the Germans, they were starving and losing and the...
