Slow Down
BY: Linda Ellis
A story from The Dash... Making a Difference with Your Life
I once heard someone say, "We don't remember days; we remember moments." However, at today's hectic pace we often forget to savor small pleasures while we make big plans.
In the race to be better or best, we sometimes lose sight of "just being." And just being, just soaking in and savoring a beautiful moment, can provide some of life's greatest pleasures. A crackling fire on a cold winter night; a good book; a love letter from your spouse; a spectacular sunset; a great meal; or a timeless moment with your child or a friend...these moments, if we stop long enough to enjoy, are the essence of life.
I love to fish, especially for large-mouth bass. About three years ago, I was watching television late one night and got this crazy notion to go fishing in the lake behind my house. Of course, my wife thought I was nuts. It was almost midnight! I convinced her I was sane and took off. I walked out to a warm summer breeze and looked up at the starry sky and breathtaking full moon. I allowed my senses to soak in every second - the sweet smell of honeysuckle, the sound of every cricket and bullfrog, the moon's reflection dancing off the water - it was a perfect night.
After walking across a small field, I took out a flashlight and selected a lure. On my first cast, I reeled in a bass weighing over five pounds, one of the largest I had every caught. I gently released it back into the water and continued my midnight adventure. During the next two hours, I caught seventeen bass, all between two and five pounds. Although I've fished for almost fifty years, no fishing memory can top that warm summer night.
But that night provided far more than a fishing memory. It was a life memory. It provided me a snapshot of what life could be like if I just slowed down enough to savor the moments. On my way back to the house, as I walked through the tall grass, I took one last look at the sky and stopped to say, "Thank you, God, for giving me this night."
Remember, it will only last for a little while...so savor the moments, savor the memories of your Dash.
"Every hour of every day is an unspeakably perfect miracle."
- Walt Whitman
인간이 기억하는 건 그'날'이 아니고 바로 '그 '순간'이다. 그 (를 만난 그 녀) 순간. 한격자 발표를 본 그 순간. 고통의 그 순간. 하핞은 부지의 사람이 한말 속에서어떤 한 단어가 가슴을 뭉클하게 한 순간. 시끙벅쩍 시장 통에서 쪼그리고 앉은 그 모습에서 엄마를 느낀 바로 그 순간. 지철에서 유모차에 탄 꼬맹이가 웃는 순간. 언덕을 오르는 노파의 리어커를 같이 밀고 간 그 순간. 꾀째재한 손을 내미는 꼬맹이가 컵을 사 등던 그 순간.길을 걷다 문득 옹여본 하늘에서 급히 날아가는 구름 한 조각. ... 참으로 거창한 순간의 아름다움이 다 있다.
미친듯이 몰아치는 삶의 속도는 결코 이런 작은 완전한 행복을 느낄 순간을 결코 허락하지 않는다. 우리 주변에서 일어나는 그 어느 한 순간이 아름답지 않은 곳이 어디 있으며 그 어느 한 순간이 완전하지 않은 곳이어디 있겠나, 그러나 이 모든것 완전한 '순간''순간'을 다 놓지고 있다. 완전한순간을 충분히 바라보고 느끼고 그 순간에 빠져들 수 있으면 완전하고도 완벽한 영원을, 영원한 행복을, 부족람 업ㅈㅅ이 완벽한 행복을 만나게 된다.
찬바람이 차가은 초겨을 저녁이다. 이 밤은 생각의 속도를 줄이고 삶의 속도를 늦추리라
그리고 옥상을 등정하여 별이 총총한 밤하늘을 함 올려다 봐야겠다.
Read more: http://www.beliefnet.com/Inspiration/Inspired-Faith/The-Dash/Slow-Down.aspx#ixzz1eEcUto2P