How does one savor life’s bouquet? How do we really enjoy the moment? Very hard to do in the modern era. We live in the time of comparison and most assuredly, we live in the time of speed. But we must catch ourselves every now and then to gain strength, energy, power, and to put it all in perspective for sure.
The other day, one of my students said to me that she was really, really upset, really at a loss because one of her professors had admonished her and she was feeling somewhat broken. She’d lost her confidence for the time. And what was she to do? Now all of us want to help, don’t we? We always want to say something that makes people feel a little bit better, but I told her the truth.
The truth is that the only person that’s going to make you feel better is you by realizing that it is a very long life, and you’re going to have these bumps and bruises along the way. And you have to be honest with yourself. Who am I? What’s going on? Was the professor correct?
And if she was, okay. Reevaluate. It’s okay because that is the learning path for all of us, for sure. You know, to save our lives bouquet, we can’t make any comparisons. Not at all.
And we do, as I was saying, live in this age of comparison, but it’s pointless because there is no one like me. There never has been, of course, and there never will be. But so what? So what? Unless they get to work on me, and most don’t, by the way.
They don’t, and that’s why we must, at times, be in the present. I think one time, one of my friends said to me, Leon, when you really get hairy, just stop. And I began to take it up. I was on my scooter going somewhere. I was probably late, and I stopped.
And I could smell, gosh, the flowers for the moment. I could hear the children playing in the distance, water running, birds flying overhead. Really distressed me because I’d been missing out on those events of the moment. I’d always been living either in the past frustration and loss or in the future things that could be, but neither of these is real, to be honest. The only thing that’s real is right now.
The now. So that’s why when I wake up in the morning, I am grateful that I’ve been given another moment in the morning. Write in your notebook. Say your prayers. Prepare for the day.
And by practicing gratefulness, I also want to find ways that I can enhance myself. I wanna exercise. I wanna do the things that go along. The other day, talking about staying in the moment, I was walking in the mountains, and I chanced upon this little frog who was happily jumping along. And when he saw me, he froze, but he froze on the asphalt, which was quite cute because normally in the forest or on the forest floor, you would never see him because obviously he’s green, but here you could see everything.
And I thought the poor fellow, here he is terrified at this giant, me, and I don’t consider myself a giant at all, but to him, of course, I was. Then we must push on. Right? Push on. It’s kind of a story that reminds all of us that we wanna grasp these momentary bits of joy.
Right? I was standing in a lineup recently, and there was a child beside me, twittering away, laughing, singing songs. Those moments, write them in your notebook. They are so precious. But I was reading something the other day.
I wanted to share with you. It’s from Matthew six. So Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, the four major gospels. And this is whether you’re a religious person or not, but it’s encouraging at the very least.
“Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life. What you will eat or drink or about your body, what you will wear, is not life more than food and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air. They do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow? They do not labor or spin, yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God closed the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, you of little faith? So do not worry saying, what shall we eat or what shall we drink or what shall we wear?
For the pagans run after these things, and your heavenly father knows that you need them, but seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
In other words, have faith in yourself. If you really want to savor life’s bouquet, take those moments and say I’m so fortunate to be me truly.
And you know what they say? You know what they say? Critical thinking is necessary, especially if you’re going to save your life’s bouquet and critical thinking is everything. And, you know, no matter how you feel, wake up, stand up, clean up, dress up, show up. Never ever ever give up.
You take care. Save it that bouquet of life. God bless. Bye bye.