“But often, in the world’s most crowded streets,
But often, in the din of strife,
There rises an unspeakable desire
After the knowledge of our buried life;
A thirst to spend our fire and restless force
In tracking out our true, original course.”
– Matthew Arnold
Bad things only take a second to remember forever. Good things take fifteen seconds of awareness to get planted in our memories. After I heard this last week I made an effort to stop long enough to deposit all the goodness I could into my memory bank. Doing this made me more aware of the present moment, more aware of all there is to be grateful for, more aware of how the good outweighs the bad – by far.
For fifteen seconds I:
Gazed at the stars before going inside.
Hugged without letting go first.
Closed my eyes and breathed in the kindness of my friends.
Allowed myself to be open hearted when saying goodbye.
Felt the weight of Smitty the cat lying on my chest.
Lingered over the taste of a just picked apple.
Stopped multi-tasking and listened to the words of a song.
Watched the sunset until it warmed my soul.
Opened up to receiving and said yes please and thank you more.
Stood under the trees filled with fall colors and danced on a rainbow.
Stop and look.
Stop and feel.
Stop and trust.
Stop and listen.
Stop and receive.
Stop and love.
Stop and dance.
It only takes fifteen seconds.
